Clockwork Heart
by XCYTE Xavveina
Summary: (Better Summary In Story) Mykale finally got his dream job, working at the League of Legends! He's been obsessed with Runeterra ever since he was a kid, and now he's gonna get the chance to go there! He meets many people along the way, including a mechanical girl by the name of Orianna. Despite people's warnings about her, he can't help but be intrigued by this Clockwork Lady.
1. Protected

**Summary:** **Mykale's dreams have finally come true after he manages to snag a job at the League of Legends. Rona, a young Archmage meets him along the way to guide him. All is going great until tragedy strikes. Mykale is attacked and mortally wounded by an Earth Troll, halting his journey for the time being. On top of that, word that a Deathmage is attacking the capital calls the young mage away. Mykale's adventure has taken a turn, not to mention the Robot that saved his life from being killed by the Troll. Who is this strange mechanical lady? Why did she save Mykale? He's not sure, but if he knows one thing, he won't stop until he finds out. It's just one crazy situation after the other in this story. Please RxR!**

 **Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Magic, Adventure, Sci-Fi**

 **Note: So I wanted to make a quick update to this chapter. I feel like the summary I wrote for the description doesn't quite explain this story well enough. Mainly because there's not enough characters to do so...so I wanted to put it in here. I was hesitant to do this, cause I feel like updating chapters that are already out is like an excuse to put the story back up on top of the list. I don't intend on doing this often, so no worries!**

 **Chapter 1: Protected**

It was as if time stopped all at once. A sense of purpose that i had never felt before washed over me. All i could do was stare dumbfoundedly at the enormous structure in front of me.

The walls had to be 100ft high of pure, solid cobalt. It's windows, about half that, of beautiful stained glass. The rest though…well, let's just say I wasn't staring at it out of awe.

I looked to each side of the wall, trying to find anything else to speak of, but there was nothing. No golden arch, no limestone pedestals, no red carpet, no birds singing cumbaya. It was literally just a huge cobalt wall with stained glass windows. There wasn't even a door.

"Is this really the entrance?" I said, pulling up a poorly drawn map to my face. The crayon was starting to fade, so it was getting hard to make out anything it said. "I thought for sure they said it was here." I said, grumbling to myself.

I looked back to the structure again, hoping to catch something I might've missed. Was the entrance hidden? Maybe it was like in the movies where the door can only be seen by the full moon's light or some weird crap like that.

Now see, a sensible person would of just decided to walk around too see if they could find an entrance! However, I am not a sensible person, so I decided to let my stupid antics take over for a second. I swear, it's totally involuntary when that happens!

I picked up a decent sized rock, cupped it in my hands, and got ready to throw it.

Now you might be thinking to yourself: "he's not actually thinking about throwing a rock at a stone wall is he? what, is he 10 or something?" and for your information, I'm a full grown, 20 year old man! I only act like I'm 10...

"This...is probably not smart" I thought as I chucked the stone at the wall. Not sure what I was trying to accomplish, but it definitely wasn't what was about to happen.

Aiming was never my strong suit, and the fact that the rock was heading straight for a window didn't help my case.

"CRAP, I KNEW THAT WAS A BAD IDEA!" I screamed, sprinting towards the direction of my throw. Not like I could catch the thing, but hey, can't hurt to try! The worst part was, I was slightly impressed with myself that I was actually able to throw it that far.

I knew it was over when I saw the rock only a few feet away from breaking the beautiful masterpiece. I stopped and closed my eyes as I waited to hear the sound of smashing glass.

"Ooooooh man, I'm in for it now. Do you realize how much that thing probably cost to make? MORE THAN MY LIFE SAVINGS!" I thought to myself as I waited for the inevitable.

But then...I was still waiting...gosh, I know they say seconds feel longer in these situations, but this was ridiculous. I opened my eyes a tad bit. There was no crash, no sound of any kind, nothing. Did it happen so fast that it made no impact? Did I subconsciously kill myself so I wouldn't have to deal with the consequences? IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE!?

I slowly turn my head, almost afraid of what I was about to see. I was relieved, and very confused, as I saw the window that I was about to hit, still intact. I scratched my head, trying to figure out just what happened.

"Did I...actually miss...No, there was no way that would have missed. That window is 50ft tall, couldn't have misjudged that." I decided to walk up closer and inspect the premisis. "Maybe the window is made of some ridiculously hard stained glass or something. it could of just bounced off."

I got up close to the mound of stone, and began searching around the area. If it bounced off, then it would of landed close by. But I mean...it is a rock...not like it's much different from all the others around me.

As I searched around, I was taken back by a quick breeze that whooshed by. It wouldn't of surprised me so much if it weren't for the direction it came from, and it came straight from the direction of the wall. I stood up quick, which caused me to wobble back on my feet a little.

"Wow now, last time I checked, wind couldn't go through walls." I remarked sarcastically. Not too long after I said that, another gust of wind came straight through the stone. Pushing my already messy black hair out of my face.

I stood there dazed for a bit. Something weird was going on here, and whenever something's weird, I must investigate. Picking my hand up, I reached it out to the stone. As I got closer, I soon found that there was still wind. This wall would've easily blocked all the wind. So why could I still feel it this close?

"Alright, you...you...stupid magical wall. What's the deal here? Are you some kind of whacked out air conditioning or what?" I said as earnest as I could. At that point, I was really hoping nobody was there watching me. I probably looked pretty stupid screaming at a wall.

As soon as I said that though, a swirl of blue water like mist began to form on the stone, forming a kind of vortex that started to grow. I instantly backed away in shock, flailing my hands around like a mad man. I guess I was right about it being magic.

A hand came through the mist and grabbed my shirt before I could get away. I inherently screamed like a little girl, but that's all I could do before I was pulled into the wall, straight through blue magic swirl that had grown quite large by that time. I felt a cold sensation run through my body as the magic touched my skin, but it only lasted a second before I was onto the other side with my face planted in the dirt.

"My gosh you took forever. How long were you planning on staring at my Hologram?" a voice said over me. I pulled my face off the dirt and looked up to see a woman cloathed in, what looked to be, a Magician's gown. She had blond hair, and blue eyes. Couldn't be much over 30 by the look of her. She held a large wooden staff in her right hand, which she used to return the blue magic swirl to its 'original' form of a fake wall.

"Well...um...hi there!...uhhh, who are you?" I asked the woman as I attempted to stand back on my feet, only staggering a little bit. She put her staff on my back to help me balance myself.

"My name is Rona, and as you can probably guess by now, I'm the one who keeps this magic wall up. As well as guarding it from any trespassers that wander too far."

I couldn't help but stare in amazement for a second. The amount of magic tenacity that is needed to keep a wall of that size up is immense. She must of been extremely powerful, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to test just how powerful she was.

Once I was able to situate myself, I was able to get a better look at her outfit. Gold trimmings lined her purple attire. I could only imagine how much that cost to make. Around her neck she wore a necklace that I instantly recognized. A glowing, light blue diamond hovered in the middle of two golden serpents. The serpents connected to each other in the form of a circle, and their tails formed into grape vines at the bottom.

"You're a Archmage! The highest honor that can be given to a magic user!" I said with a huge smile on my face. I was definitely proud of myself for knowing that, but Rona thought otherwise. She gave me a very perplexed look, like I gave her the wrong answer on a test that should of been an obvious one.

"Well of course. I'd sure hope you know that if you want this job. So don't act all smart, stuff like that is common knowledge around here." she remarked coldly.

I could feel an imaginary bullet get shot through my chest right there. I collapsed in a depressed heap on the ground. Talk about shattering all my dreams in one punch.

"Anyway, enough babbling. I was told you were coming and I was to meet you here. The counsel wanted me to guide you to the city personally...yay me!" The woman said mockingly as she extended her hand towards me. "So stop wasting my time, and let's get a move on. we've got a lot of ground to cover."

My face instantly lit up when I heard the word 'Runeterra'. I gratefully accepted Rona's hand and threw myself back up onto my feet. If ever you wanted to get me up in the morning, well...now you know how.

"Yes! Let's go!" It was my turn to offer my hand. "Sorry, I never introduced myself before. My names Mykale. It's nice to meet you Rona!" My complete change of character only seemed to irritate the mage. I watched as she lifted her staff over my head and proceeded to give me a quick smack.

"Stop being so happy now, it's annoying."

"Um...uh, yes ma'am." I answered back in a slight whine, rubbing the top of my skull. Withought a word, Rona turned and began walking away. Assuming I should follow, I quickly got back up again and chased after her. I wasn't sure how long we'd be on this journey, but I had a feeling it was going to get awkward fairly soon if neither of us said anything. Well...awkward for me anyway.

I soon realized that I hadn't yet taken in the scenery around me. I mean, we were in an area walled off by an Archmage's magic, some things had to be different. The trees all looked the same, the grass was still green, the air felt normal, but I just knew that something was different...I couldn't put my finger on it though. I know it was a bit early, but maybe now was the time to start up a conversation. It'd definitely make it easier to later on.

"So, uh...how long have you been guarding this area for?" I asked. I almost immediately regretted doing so when I saw the woman turn and give me a sour look. I covered back a little bit, clenching my skull for fear of being smacked again.

"You really like talking, don't you?" The mage said with distaste. I chuckled nervously, scratching the back of my head.

"Yeah...I guess I do. I was just curious is all." I took a quick look around me, scanning the entire area. "This kinda stuff has interested me since I was a kid, Magic and all that. I still can't believe that one person can manage to keep a barrier of this size up for so long. It's really quite amazing." I answer back. Rona raised her eyebrow.

"Technically it's not a barrier. The wall doesn't actually keep anyone out." The woman said, turning back to continue on her way. I followed after her. I couldn't help but let a big smile creep over my face. It was this kinda stuff I wanted to know. The kinda things you can't learn from books. "It works as a kind of alarm system. If someone or something ever passes through the barrier, I'll know. Thankfully, that rarely happens, and when it does it's usually just an animal that stumbled in by mistake.

A million other questions instantly started popping up in my head. I really didn't want to start throwing them on her, knowing that I'd probably get wailed on again, but I couldn't help but ask a few.

"So if it's not a barrier, then what's the point? I mean, if an enemy wanted to get in, then I doubt a hologram could keep them away.

"It could if they're as perceptive as you." Rona said with a snark. Worst part was, she was right...I couldn't even rebuttal that.

"Alright, point taken. I just think having a barrier would be safer, don't you? Hasn't it happened before where an enemy got through? I asked. The last thing I wanted to do was question an Archmage about smart ideas, but hey, when you gotta know something you gotta know.

"First of all, do you realize how much magic it would actually take to keep a barrier of this size up? Not even 10 Archmages could accomplish that. Secondly, yes it has happened before, 12 times actually, and I dealt with every single one of them accordingly." The mage said sternly.

It was at that point that I decided to shut up for a while. I still had more questions, but I didn't want to push the subject. I could tell Rona was getting very irritated, and I really didn't want to make her angry. I just kept quiet and followed her.

Not much happened for the first half of our little journey, and with Rona never uttering a sound the entire time, It got very awkward as I predicted. More and more questions kept popping up in my head. I wanted more than anything to ask the mage all of them, but I figured she would either get mad at me again or just ignore me completely.

I kept looking around me in hopes that something out of the ordinary would happen, but after 30 minutes of absolutely nothing, you start losing hope. So what do you do then? Why, make something happen yourself obviously! even if it isn't intentional…

My foot hooked a root that was jutting out of the ground. I had a mere second to yelp before my face was planted in the dirt for the 3rd time today. Rona turned around with a 'really' look on her face as she saw my pathetic body lied sprawled out.

"My gosh, are you clumsy or just stupid? She said with a whine. I lifted my head up and gave her a cringy smile.

Then out of nowhere, my skin started to feel really cold. Like I was slowly being submerged in water. I started flailing my arms a little bit, but wasn't able to do much. Whatever this was, it was very constricting. I instinctively held my breath as the feeling coursed over my entire body. I was lifted up off the ground, and stood back on my feet. The sensation left as quickly as it came.

I stumbled back, terrified, as I started feeling around myself, trying to see If I was back to normal. I looked up to Rona who had the same expression on her face as before.

"Hey, did you….um…."

"Yes, that was my doing. By your reaction I can tell that you've never been fully consumed by water magic before."

"Uh...no, I haven't. It felt really weird."

"Water magic is mainly used for healing, but it can also be used to consume objects and move them like I did with you."

"Wow, really? I mean, I knew water magic was powerful, but I didn't know it could do all that!" I said with a smile on my face. I looked around my body, and sure enough, all the scrapes and cuts I had gotten along our walk were all healed. "That's so cool!"

"Just one of the many things you're going to see at this job." Rona said as she turned back to continue on. That's right, I wasn't used to this stuff because no one in my hometown knew magic, but it was soon to become normal for me. I was feeling energetic again as I raced to catch up to the magic user. I don't know if this was a good time to try and start up a new conversation, but I was gonna give it a shot none the less.

"So, hey...uh-" I tried to say before Rona cut me off.

"Why are you so happy again after just one display of simple magic? Are you really so easily amused?" the woman snarked.

"No no, it's not that, I was just wondering. Why did you decide to become an Archmage?" There I went again, treading grounds I should of stayed away from. It was too late to stop now though. guess I better prepare for the worst.

Rona stopped dead in her tracks. I Instinctively threw my hands up over my head to protect myself.;kj

"I'M SORRY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO!" I yelled in sheer terror. "I was just...uh…"

"You really think I choose this?" Rona said with such a serious tone it sent shivers down my spine. I slowly lowered my hands.

"Um...you mean you didn't?" I asked hesitantly. I could see Rona clench her fists tightly. She turned around and gave me...a look I didn't expect. There was a look of pity on her face.

"I'm telling you this for your own good. Don't ever-" The mage cut herself off. She perked up as if she suddenly heard something that scared her. Turns out that's exactly what happened.

"What is it?" I asked. The woman stood there for a while, just listening all around her. She turned her head in every direction, desperately trying to see something. Whatever it was, for someone as powerful as her to react like this, it's probably not something good.

"GET DOWN!" Rona screamed as she lunged into me, pinning me to the ground. I didn't have much time to say anything before I saw a giant boulder come whizzing over top of our bodies. It flew so fast, I could feel the gust of wind from it that made my really messy hair even messier. Now THAT'S how you throw a rock! The fact that I was more fascinated in the throw, then I was afraid for the fact that the thing almost hit me, still concerns me.

Rona threw herself off of me and stood in a ready position. She held her staff out in front of her as she began to chant something that I could only guess was a spell. Suddenly, a small barrier formed around the 2 of us.

"What's going on, what threw that thing?" I asked, finally realizing the dire situation we were in.

"That THING is most likely an earth troll." Rona said with disgust. I knew instantly what we were dealing with at that point, and I wasn't looking forward to it. Earth trolls were rarely seen where I lived, but when they did show up, they caused an immense amount of destruction. Destroying everything in their sights. They were the main reason why my hometown was still in debt.

"How the heck did it get in here though? I never sensed anything!" The mage said as another stone came hurling at us. It smacked into the barrier, and skidded off the top. I wanted to help, but I didn't know how. I didn't know magic, and I wasn't a fighter. I was going to be useless in this situation.

I watched as a huge troll came bounding out from behind a group of trees. Hands wailing as he smacked the ground repeatedly. He had to be 20 ft tall, with muscles the size of a tree trunk. He held a gigantic club in his right hand, which he used to knock away any obscuring objects on his way towards us.

"Uhhhhh, Rona, you've got offensive spells right? Cause I don't think this barrier can hold for long against this guy."

"Yeah, ofcourse I do, but I doubt they'll work on this guy. Not in my current state."

"What do you mean 'Not in your current state'?"

"Uhhh, HELLOOOO, i'm kinda keeping a 100 ft wall up, ontop of everything going on here. It's not that easy, my spells are much weaker. Normally my barrier is exceedingly stronger than this."

"Can't you just take the wall down for a second so you can beat him?"

"It wouldn't matter, my magic would still be weak. It needs time to regenerate."

I was running out of ideas, and we were both running out of time. The troll was starting to close the gap on us. Throwing every rock he found at us along the way. Most of those ones were smaller, so they bounced off easy.

"Wait, didn't you say this has happened before? Where an enemy got through, and you dealt with them?"

"Yeah, but I've never had anything this big before. The other things were much easier."

"Well, you've gotta try something!" I said with angst.

"I can't! If I attempt another spell, it'll cancel this one!"

This was ridiculous. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place. There was no way we could go offensive on this guy without getting pelted by 100 large rocks. And if that didn't kill us, I'm pretty sure his club would.

I racked my brain as fast as I could, trying to come up with something, ANYTHING that could work. The idea that I finally came up with though...well...it was definitely a 'me' kinda plan.I decided to avoid asking for Rona's okay, as I'm sure she'd refuse the idea.

Building up the nerve, I burst through the barrier, taking off in a different direction. I could hear Rona scream my name in the background. All I needed was just 1 word, and a lot of faith that she would get what I meant.

"BAAAAAIT!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. I'm pretty sure Rona could hear me from that distance, but I was too far away now to confirm it. I just decided to keep with my plan, and hope that she can follow through.

I turned to look at the troll who had averted his attention towards me, so at least my plan worked. Wasn't too happy though when I saw him start picking up rocks and chucking them at me. It was a good thing I played a lot of dodgeball back in my old school, cause that dodging practice really helped in this situation.

I weaved and spun to avoid all the rock's the troll threw at me. I don't know how I was able to dodge every single one, but I guess when you're in a life or death situation, you become a lot more agile.

When it finally seemed like the monster had run out of projectiles to throw, I stopped to catch my breath. I quick looked over in the direction where Rona would be, and to my utter joy, I saw a glowing light begin to emerge from that spot. She was cooking up a spell alright, and I had to keep this dude distracted for a little longer.

"HEY FARTFACE, YOU THROW LIKE AN OGRE! ARE YOU SURE YOU'RE A TROLL!?" I screamed to the beast as loud as I could. At first I wasn't sure if he understood me, but when he finally let out a loud roar, I knew he did.

It was like watching a gunshot when he finally started charging at me. He moved so fast, I had no time to react before he was right on top of me. I fell back in surprise, looking up at the massive creature in front of me. I couldn't breathe for a second as my body shook all over.

"uhh...umm...h-h-hhhi there...h-h-how are yoooou?" I said in a shaky voice.

The troll wasted no time in pleasantries as he scooped me up in his hands. His giant fingers wrapped around my body. It was like being constricted by a huge snake. I wreathed back and forth, but I couldn't even begin to losen his grip. He brought me up to this face, and snarled at me.

 **"I'M NO OGRE! Human mock me! I kill human!"** The Troll said with a shrill and menacing voice.

Now I was the one stuck between a rock and a hard place. Really hoping Rona was done over there, cause if she didn't do something soon, I was gonna be troll fodder. I really didn't want to get eaten before I even had my first day on the job.

The troll lifted his club in the air, and got ready to smash it on my head. All I could do is sit there and pray for the best. That's all I could do at this point. Oh wait...there was one thing I forgot to try...

"HEEEEEEEEEEELP!" I screamed as loud as I could. That usually doesn't work, but I was out of ideas at that point.

The beast cackled at my display of plee. It halted the head smashing for a bit, but that almost made it worse. I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable. I really hope d Rona didn't get in trouble for letting their employee die on the first day. I mean, these things happen...right?

 **"DIE HUMAN"**

I gritted my teeth, and clenched my fists. However, instead of hearing the sound of a club crashing on my head, I heard the sound of vines, and a lot of them. They were wrapping around an object, and it was close.

When I wasn't dead after a few seconds, I opened my eyes to see the troll that was holding me, now almost completely wrapped in vines. He yanked back and forth, but he wasn't having much luck.

"Hold on, were coming to help" said a woman's voice. I tried to turn to see who it was, but the troll still had a firm grasp on me. He continued to shake through the vines, this time having more luck. Grunt after grunt, he managed to pull almost all the vines off. Lifting his club again, he got ready to smash but was stopped again by a vine that locked his smashing arm into place.

"No you don't!" yelled the woman's voice again.

This time though, the troll decided to go with another plan. He lifted me up into the air with his free hand, and with a loud grunt, chucked me as hard as he could. I could hear the woman scream as my body flew helplessly through the sky. I was panicked, but I did manage to finally look back. I managed to see a large tree like creature go underground, and come up on the troll, smashing him with an attack I could barely make out. After that point, my vision started to go black. The troll had flung me hard enough to where the air pressure almost knocked me out.

I finally started falling back towards the ground after what seemed like an eternity. I was barely conscious, but I knew that if I hit that ground at full force, it would most certainly kill me.

I crashed through the trees, only slowing my speed by a tiny bit. Scraped and bruised, but nothing compared to what was about to happen...or at least, what I thought was going to happen.

"Protect"

It was quiet, but I was able to make out a voice. It was a female's voice again. Was it the woman who saved me before? No, there was no way she could make it this far in enough time. It had to be someone else.

Then out of nowhere this ball shaped object came racing towards me. If it wasn't for the fact that I was almost knocked out, I may have reacted more. Once the object got to me, it created this shield that formed a ball that cover my entire body.

I don't remember much after that. Was I dead? Who was that woman? What was that ball that created the shield? My memory is vague of that time, but I do recall one part. One part that stuck with me after that.

I opened my eyes slowly. I was dazed, but I could make out a person...a woman standing over me. When my vision cleared a little bit...I was able to see her for who she was.

The ladies metal skin shimmered in the light as she hovered over me. She had dark blonde hair that was also made of metal. Her eyes glowed a beautiful blue as they looked over me. I'm pretty sure she was studying me. Like she had never seen a human before. I was able to mutter a few words.

"Who...who are you?"

The woman averted her gaze towards mine. She looked deep into my eyes, like there was something behind them she was trying to see. Then...a faint smile came over her iron face as she said...

"PrOteCTed"

I blacked out after that.

 **Thank you so much guys for sticking till the end! I'm happy with how this chapter ended, and I'm hoping I can do the same next chapter. I wasn't sure if I should introduce Ori into the story yet, but I managed to fit her in there. There's going to be alot of Drama/Comedy and relationship development in the future! Don't worry, I hate forcing a romance, so I won't be doing that XD**


	2. Separated

**Chapter 2: Separated**

The sound of birds chirping nearby caused me to stir in my sleep. I started to slowly slip back into consciousness. Did I die? Was this heaven? As I started to move my body, I could feel a sharp pain in my chest. I clenched the spot, groaning under my breath. Nope, can't be heaven if I'm feeling pain.

"It's about time you woke up!" Said a familiar woman's voice. I opened my eyes, letting the bright morning light shine on them, causing me to squint. I lifted my head off of the pillow that it was rested on. It felt so heavy for some reason, like someone tied a dumbell to my forehead. When I finally had the strength to lift it up, I turned to look at the owner of the voice.

"...Rona...what…where am I?...OWW" I yelled as I clenched my chest again. Trying to sit up was definitely a bad idea at that point. It seemed like lifting my head was all I was able to do.

"Easy now, you have some broken ribs so don't try to sit up too fast" The magic user said as she laid me back down. All of a sudden, jumbled memories of what happened starting to pop up in my head. It felt almost like a jigsaw puzzle that was putting itself together. "You're in the guest room of my house."

I glanced around in a daze. The room was pretty much empty. A few boxes here and there, a dresser, some rugs here and there, but that was it. She was definitely not one for being creative and/or unique in designing things. I learned that much from her wall.

"What...what happened to me?" I asked, still trying to get my bearings. It didn't help when I was met with a hard 'bonk' to my head from the mage. It didn't really hurt, but I still instinctively lifted my hands up to my head to protect myself. I looked to see Rona with a not-so-happy look on her face.

"You're really an idiot, you know that? I'd of hit you harder if you weren't injured. What were you thinking back there? Running off like that, you could've died!" Rona said, now with a worried look on her face. At that point I remembered the part she was talking about, and a feeling of guilty came over me.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. I figured if I'd of told you my plan, you would've stopped me."

"Of course I would've! I was perfectly capable of protecting you! What, did you just not trust me?"

I was really surprised at how sincere Rona was about all of this. At first, she seemed really aloof. Like she didn't care about her position, or her job too much. Maybe I really didn't trust her to protect me back then, and that's why I ran. Even after I saw her amazing power...no, that wasn't it. I knew she could've protected me.

"It's not that I didn't trust you...it's just that...I didn't want to risk you getting hurt in the process. We could've both died there, and I didn't want to take that chance. If I could of saved you, it'd be worth it." I said with a smile on my face.

There was a silence in the air for a bit. I sat there, awaiting another smack to the head...but nothing came. Rona just looked at me with wide eyes. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't expecting that answer. Whether or not that was a good thing, I'm not sure yet. The Archmage lowered her gaze after a good few seconds. Finally, she spoke up.

"You're really annoying, you know that?" Rona said under her breath.

I couldn't help but burst into laughter after that, causing the mage to jump surprisedly. I'm not sure why I laughed so hard, I just felt like I should at that point. There was too much tension in the air, so I guess I thought a good laugh would help ease it...then I remembered, oh yeah, I have broken ribs!

"HahahaaaAAAAHHOWWW!" I said as I grabbed my chest again. Rona rolled her eyes at my stupidity.

"My gosh, you never cease to amaze me with your idiocy." The mage said. She reached down to the floor and picked up what looked like a bandage. She started to unroll it. "I healed you as much as I could with my magic, but I'm still a beginner when it comes to that stuff. Minor wounds are pretty much all I can do right now, yours were far beyond what I could handle."

After she said that, I remembered when the mage picked me up off the ground with her water magic and healed me. That feeling of being wet and dry at the same time was so weird, it still made my skin tingle. All I had back then was scrapes and small cuts, but I never thought that'd be her limit. I guess even Archmages have things they're bad at. Well...magic wise anyway. Rona was definitely bad on a number of other things.

Rona's face sunk as she lowered the bandage. A look of concern came over her face. I'm not sure what I did this time, but I knew it wasn't good. She thought for a bit before she said anything.

"It's weird though...I know my healing magic is weak, but it's never been that weak. I was barely able to do anything to your injuries. It was almost like...the magic just bounced off of you when I tried." Rona said with worry in her voice.

"You were probably just weaker than you thought you were from keeping up that wall, and on top of that you created that forcefield too. I'm sure if you gave it a few days, you'd be able to heal me up in no time!" I said, trying to be positive.

I gave Rona a thumbs up, along with a huge smile. She appeared to not pay me any mind as she continued to ponder what happened. Obviously that wasn't the only thing that troubled her.

"That's another thing...A barrier is very difficult to break through from the inside. When you ran off before, you broke through mine so easily." Rona said.

I don't remember much about that moment, it all happened so fast. I don't even remember what it felt like, breaking through the barrier. I do know that it didn't stop me in the least though. I had a mission in mind, and I didn't think about anyone else. Maybe her barriers were weak to dumb willed people like me? is that even a thing?

Rona finally seemed to snap out of her daze, shaking her head.

"I don't know, I'm probably just overthinking it." Rona said, trying to get her thoughts straightened back. "Alright, now take off your shirt so I can patch you up."

The change of topic jarred me a bit, but I was able to avert my attention back to the here and now. I felt around my body a bit, seeing if I could feel anything out of place...don't ask me why. It wasn't like I was gushing blood or anything, so I didn't really need to be wrapped up. However, I decided against arguing with her again. I'm pretty sure she was just doing what she thought she should be, making note that first aid wasn't her forte either. I did as she said without any retort.

It definitely hurt, but I managed to get my shirt off finally. That's when I was able to really see the damage that had been done. All around my body were huge black and blue spots. I was bruised from head to toe. I had scrapes and cuts all along my torso. I guess that must of happened when I fell through the tree...wait...I actually remember that?

"I remember falling through a tree, but how was I there in the first place?" I asked.

Rona appeared to pay me no mind at first as she waved her hands upwards. I lifted my arms up, assuming that's what she meant. The higher I lifted them up, the more it hurt, but it wasn't beyond what I could bear. The mage proceeded to start wrapping the bandage around my chest.

"That probably happened after you got thrown skyward." She answered.

"Wait, thrown skyward? what do you mean? what exactly happened to me?" I asked. Flinching in pain after she hit a tender spot.

"Don't you remember? You got chucked about a mile away by that earth troll. We thought for sure you were dead. It took us a while, but we finally found you lying on the ground, somehow alive. You didn't even have that much damage done, just some broken ribs, and a lot of scrapes and bruises. From a throw like that...I still don't understand how you lived"

The image of that moment started to form itself in my mind. I remembered taunting the troll, to which he decided to give me a club sandwich to the face. Before he did though, I was saved by...by…

"There were other people that were there too. They were the one's that saved me from getting my head smashed in"

"Oh, those 2? Yeah, they like to hang around that area a lot. It's kinda home to them."

I woulda thrown myself up again, but I knew better at that point. Didn't want to injure myself anymore then I already had, and Rona probably wouldn't like it if I messed up her bandage job. Instead, I just let a huge hopeful smile speak for my excitement.

"Who are they? Can I meet them? I need to at least thank them for saving me!" I asked earnestly. I knew I probably sounded like a child, but I didn't care. I had yet to see anything out of the ordinary today, besides the troll, and I was eager to. Like what those 2 did in order to take out that beast. Now THAT could be something to write home about!

"Wooow, hold up now. Why don't you get yourself healed up first. Those 2 are back in the forest, so you won't be seeing them anytime soon regardless."

Rona finished wrapping the bandage around my chest, tapeing the end on so it would stay. I lowered my arms and tested it out to see if it was comfortable. Wasn't the best mending job I'd ever seen, but I could live with it. So long as it didn't suffocate me.

"Thanks, I owe you one." I said as I started putting my shirt back on, now in a little less pain.

"I did it for you this time, but you're going to need to change it again and I probably won't be around to help." Rona said as she sat back down in the chair she was sitting in previously. She sighed a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of her neck in exhaustion. "Danget, why did I have to be the one that had to protect you?"

Right after she said that, my thoughts instantly flashed back to the fall. It was a word that she said that triggered it...it was 'protect'. That word...I remember hearing it...I heard it while I was falling. Someone said it, and something happened when said person did.

"Hey, Rona?" I asked in a serious tone.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Back in the forest...when I was falling...I think someone else saved me."

Rona stopped what she was doing, and gave me a confused look. She studied me for a few seconds as if she was trying to determine whether or not I was making that up. It didn't take her long to respond back this time.

"Are you sure you didn't just hit your head? As far as I know, there is no one else that lives in that forest. When we found you, you were alone."

I started rubbing my head, trying to pull out the memories of what happened. The only thing that came to my mind was an object...an object that flew at me...it was the object that protected me. It was also...it was also shaped like a ball.

"It was a ball, or at least an object shaped like a ball." I said.

"What do you mean a ball? Are you saying someone else saved you with a ball?" Rona said, not sure if she should laugh at how ridiculous that sounded, or be concerned that I really did hit my head.

"Yes...and no...I'm not sure exactly. When I was falling through the tree, I heard this voice say 'protect', that's when the thing came flying at me, the ball I mean. It shielded me from the fall, and I'm pretty sure it's why I'm still alive!" I said, the words coming out faster and faster. I had remembered everything now.

This time Rona had a definitive look on her face. It was a look of pure shock, that quickly changed to concern. She stayed there for a few seconds like she was trying to figure out what to say. Now I was starting to get worried at this point.

The mage threw herself off the chair and walked to the end of the room. Grabbing a handle on the wall, she slide open the door to what appeared to be a closet. I didn't even notice that before, it was so well hidden.

The woman began rustling around inside the closet. I couldn't see what she was looking through, and it really annoyed me. I was curious at this point. If ever you wanted to get me mad, just peak my interest in something and completely leave me out of it. I tried sitting up to get a better angle, but the bandage along with my injuries restrained my really well.

"What are you looking for?" I asked, really hoping for an answer and maybe an explanation.

Suddenly, rona started chucking books out of the closet one after the other. The books looked really old, I don't think throwing them like that was really good for them! Either Rona wasn't into reading, or this was actually something serious! Wait...why does she have books in her closet in the first place? Ever heard of a bookshelf?

"No, not that one…..no…..nope…..not that one either." Rona said with each book she tossed out.

"Can you please tell me what's going on? I'm DYING to know over here!" I asked.

"AHA, here it is!" the mage exclaimed.

Rona stood up, holding a large book in her hands. It looked similar to a Bible with its leather bindings and golden edged pages, but definitely a lot older than any I've ever seen. That was probably due to how long it had been in that dusty old closet. It had words on the front that I could barely make out as "Champion Codex."

The woman starting flipping through the pages, one after another. She was so focused, I'm not sure I could get her attention even if I wanted to. Instead, I just decided to twiddle my fingers like a madman.

"Here!" Rona said, finally stopping at a certain page.

"YES, FINALLY" I rejoiced as I threw myself up again. This time, I didn't even care how much it hurt. I wanted to know what the big fuss was about. Rona turned the book around so the page she was on was facing me.

"Was it her?" Rona asked.

On the page there was a picture of a woman. The woman was made of entirely metal, even her hair. She had intense, glowing blue eyes that could look right through you. Her upper torso hovered in mid air overtop of her lower half. Around her waist she had a strange metal skirt that also appeared to be hovering. I recognized the lady instantly as a certain memory finally came back!

"THAT'S HER! she was the one that saved me!" I yelled in excitement as I threw myself out of the bed. I didn't even feel my wounds anymore thanks to the adrenaline rush I just got. The bandage also probably helped a bit.

Rona's expression changed sour. She slammed the book closed, and threw it on the bed. It bounced a few times, causing dust to float off of it.

"So that's where she's been...I can't believe I never noticed her presence." Rona said as her attention went elsewhere.

"Who is she? WHAT Is she? Why was she there? I'd really like to know!" I said anxiously.

Rona gave me a stern look, causing me to wince a little bit. She could get pretty intense when she wanted to, that's for sure.

"Her name Is Orianna if you must know! She's extremely dangerous and you need to stay far away from her, do you understand?" Rona said pointing her finger at me.

Orianna...that name rang a bell, but I couldn't place where I'd heard it before. I mean, I could just be remembering someone by that name, so I'm not positive it's her I'm thinking of. For sure though, I've heard that name.

"Who is she though? I mean, why is she out there in that forest? You acted like you were surprised when you found that out, why?" I asked. I was sick of being left in the dark on this. Call it being selfish, but I wanted to know.

"It's not important. All you need to know is she's an enemy, that's it." Rona answered.

"IT IS IMPORTANT! She saved my life!" I yelled fiercely.

"No she didn't! She did what she was programed to do!"

I dead silence filled the room. I let my rage leak out of me as I lowered my arms. I took a deep breathe before speaking again.

"What do you mean programed?" I asked.

"I don't know how you missed it, but Orianna is a robot! She's programmed to protect people in trouble. She didn't save you because she wanted to. Her thoughts, feelings, emotions, all of them programmed."

I completely lowered my hands as a defeated look came over my face. It isn't like I failed to realize she was a machine. I knew what she was the moment I saw her. I could guess that her actions weren't from her own will...but does that really change the fact?

"It's the same for when people pose a threat to her. It doesn't matter who they are or what their actual motives may be. If anyone comes off as hostile to her then she will stop at nothing to kill them!"

My thoughts instantly went back to the mechanical girls face after she saved me. The smile she had back then. She seemed pleased that she had done something good. She was happy that she saved me. Nothing about her seemed violent to me, quite the opposite.

I wanted to retort back to the mage, but the words just kept failing to exit my mouth. Everytime I was about to say something, a warning sign went off in my head. Like what I was about to say was dumb, and would only make the situation worse. Maybe at this point, it was best to just let things go.

Suddenly, the sound of a door getting thrown open echoed through the house. Rona perked up instantly at the sound of it. It startled us both, as we each jumped about a foot off the ground.

"Lady Rona! Are you here Lady Rona!?" came the voice of a man. From his tone, I could tell he was extremely frightened about something. It didn't take long for him to see the archmage in the door, because he responded soon after, "There you are, Milady!"

I watched as a large man came sprinting into the room. He had messy black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in months, and a scruffy beard. His eyes were a dark green and very bloodshot. He wore very heavy iron armor that looked too big for his body. It seemed to shake with every step he took. Around his waist dangled a sword that looked about the size of my body. I couldn't believe someone could actually lift something of that size!

Rona's expression and actions completely changed after she realized who the man was. She straightened herself up, and gave him a concerned look. It was almost like they were talking with their expressions.

"Connor, what is it? You usually don't barge into my house unless it's an emergency." Rona said almost sarcastically, but with such a serious tone you could hardly tell.

The man stopped to catch his breath for a second. He bended over and put his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. I could imagine running in all that armour would tire you out pretty quickly. I doubt I could even stand up with it on.

"We-...we're under attack...a Deathmage has breached our walls. It's only one, but he was powerful enough to break through all of our defenses!" The man said, as he finally caught wind of himself.

Rona's eyes widened. She spared no time in asking questions as she darted back to the room. Throwing open the drawer of her dresser, she pulled out a small wand. It looked like nothing I had ever seen before. It's markings looked like that of an ancient civilization. I didn't have much time to observe it before the mage shoved the thing into her robe.

"How long has it been inside? Do you know what level it is?" Rona asked as she threw a cloak over her shoulders, tieing the thing around her neck.

"Not long, probably a few minutes at most. The other mages there were saying that it was a lvl 5."

Rona gave a heavy groan under her breath. At this point I was extremely confused as to what was going on once again. This was the second time I'd seen Rona so serious. The first was obviously when the earth troll attacked us. One things for sure, Rona didn't take her duties as an Archmage lightly. I turned to look at the man who was still standing at the door, now impatiently.

"What's going on? What's a Deathmage?" I asked the soldier.

The man stopped his antsing, and looked at me with a shocked expression. He acted like he didn't even notice I was there before. I know I didn't stand out much, but come on!

"Look kid, I don't know who you are, but you don't wanna get yourself mixed up in this. A Deathmage is an extremely powerful sorcerer that's strength surpasses even an Archmages. That's all you need to know." He answered.

A being that possessed stronger magic than even an Archmage? I had never heard of such a thing! Did something like that really exist? I was starting to question everything I had learned back in school. They told me that the Archmages were the most powerful beings to ever exist! Now this man is telling me that they're not? I don't know to believe anymore.

In what seemed like no time at all, Rona was prepped and ready to go. She grabbed a really small object off the top of her desk as the last thing, and shoved it in her mouth. I had no idea what it was, but I could guess that it was probably some kind of medicine. Perhaps a pill that increased her magic power or something.

"Alright, let's go!" Rona said as she walked up to the man. "explain the details to me on the way."

The man gave a heavy nod as he ran towards the front door with Rona following behind her. I was still pretty lost as to what was going on, and I wasn't about to have them leave without knowing more. Of course, I didn't want to hold them back, so I just decided on another strategy.

"Take me with you!"

"NO!" Rona said instantly, almost like she expected me to say that.

"I can't just sit here and be useless! I can't fight obviously, but I can help others that need it!" I said, desperately trying to defend my case.

Rona threw her hands together as she chanted the words "Binding Light". I didn't have anytime to react before a bright coil of magic began to form around me. It wrapped around my body, impairing my movements.

"Nrghh, Seriously?" I said in disgust.

" I know you, and if I don't manage to hold you down, you're going to come no matter what I say." Rona answered.

I watched helplessly as the mage and soldier walked towards the door. There was nothing I could do. Rona figured my motives out pretty quick. If you wanted to keep me out of a situation like this, there'd be no other alternative than to lock me down.

"Those bindings are strong enough to hold a demon, so I wouldn't try breaking them If I were you. You'd just end up injuring yourself more." Rona said as she threw on a pair of leather boots.

The soldier was already out the door. He didn't pay me a second glance as he left. I'm assuming that meant he pitied how pathetic I was, and he didn't want me to see it in his face. I watched as he heaved a heavy sword out of the ground and threw it over his back. He definitely looked like a real soldier now.

Rona turned and pointed her finger at me aggressively.

"I better see you lying in that bed when I get back!" Rona demanded.

"No promises." I answered with a snark.

The mage rolled her eyes before she ran out the door, slamming it behind her. I could tell she wanted to say more, but she didn't have the time to. I stood there in dead silence. I knew there had to be someway that I could break free of this spell. There is no way I was gonna sit here and not do something.

I began to look around the room for anything I could use. This was the house of an Archmage after all, there had to be something. With how dull and bland the whole place was, it shouldn't be hard to find something magical. The first place I decided to look was the closet. Maybe one of the books in there had something. Possibly a way to break this thing.

I walked over to the closet and opened it. Inside I saw a huge pile of books scattered everywhere. It was as if someone just tossed em all in with no rhyme or reason. Again I ask, has she never heard of a bookshelf?

I bent over and started picking up every single one. vaguely looking over all of their designs. I had no idea what I was looking for, so this would probably take a while. I finally decided to open one of the books. A puff of dust went everywhere as I threw open the pages. I waved my hands around me, shooing away the particles. It was then that I finally realized something pretty obvious, and stopped what I was doing.

"Wait a second...aren't I binded?...how am I?..."

I threw myself up as fast as I could with my injuries. I stretched my arms out infront of me, looking over my entire body. Sure enough, the binding was gone. Did it happen when I opened the books? No, it happened way before that. How did I not realize...for that matter, how did this even happen? Did Rona accidently release the spell or something? I was beyond confused. I looked around me to see if there was something or someone that was responsible, but there was nothing.

Since I met Rona, I've been having similar things like this happen. I had chalked it up to Rona's magic being out of wack, but it's happened too many times to be a coincidence. Something was definitely different about me, I just had no Idea what.

At this point, I decided to not question it and just accept it. I had to help, despite Rona's demands. She may hate me after this...well...unless I died, then I wouldn't need to worry about it. I wasn't gonna dwell on that though.

As I ran towards the door, I was halted by a loud scream. It caused me to jump a bit. Flailing my arms around I attempted to catch my balance. I grabbed my chest as a familiar sharp pain coursed through my body. I gotta stop doing that, or Rona's right, I'm going to end up hurting myself more.

"AHHHH, HELP ME!" said the voice of what sounded like a young girl. I knew there was no way I could ignore that now. I straightened up, and pushed away the pain. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but those thoughts never seemed to occur to me until after I did something. Hence why I made a lot of stupid choices.

I opened the door, letting in a bright light. I squinted, covering my eyes with my hands. I had been inside too long, I was adjusted to the dark. I looked to my surroundings, trying to make out anything.

We were definitely in a wooded area. Trees surrounded the house from all sides. I had hoped we were actually in the town, but knowing Rona, it's no surprise she'd want to be more secluded. She didn't seem like the social type.

I saw a shed in front of me that appeared to have been built 500 years ago. The thing was so old, I couldn't believe it was still standing. I tried to picture what Rona was keeping in there, and all that came to mind was piles and piles of dusty books.

The scream echoed through the air again, snapping me back into reality. I nearly forgot what I was doing. I got my bearings and took off in the direction of the sound. It was close, I could tell that much. I would definitely have to take a trip through the forest if I was going to find her.

I pushed passed branches, letting them scrap me slightly. The trees were so thick, it took me forever to finally get to a clearing. I clenched my chest again, the pain was getting worse but it wasn't beyond what I could handle. When I finally stopped I listened for another sound from the girl. A scream would help right now, as bad as that sounds.

It didn't take long for just that too happen. The girl let out another scream that echoed through the woods. It was even closer this time. I finally decided to call back.

"HEY, OVER HERE!" I screamed.

I listened again for a response, but there was nothing. This was getting me nowhere. I had no idea where the sounds were coming from. Actually, it almost seemed like they were coming from all different direction. Letting out a loud groan, I looked around to try and see anyone.

To my great joy, I managed to spot a figure in the distance behind the trees. I smiled as I took off towards them. This had to be them, It just had to. Who else would be out in these woods?...seriously, who, cause I have no idea.

"HEY, I'M HERE! I CAN HELP YOU!" I screamed as I got closer to the girl. She made no movements at all the entire time. Could she not hear me?

"HEY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" I screamed again.

As the person finally started to take shape, I soon recognized who it was I was running towards. Her metallic body shimmered in the light that shined through the trees. Her upper body hovered over her lowers, and her skirt seemed to dance around her waist. On her back she had a windup device like you would see on a music box or something. It turned ever so slowly in a jagged and not very smooth manor. My run turned to a slow walk as I got closer.

"Wait...is it you?" I asked the metal lady.

I stood there for a bit, just watching her. She didn't seem to notice me at first as she continued to face the other direction. I took a few steps closer. I didn't want to risk surprising her, remembering Rona's words. She could have some sort of defense mechanism or something. I had no idea what I was going up against here, and even though I was kinda curious, I didn't want to learn by being the test subject. I decided to try and get her attention as smoothly as I could.

"Um...hey there...do you remember me? I'm the guy that you saved back there in the forest. You know, the one that fell from the tree." I said in almost a whisper. I was sure that I was close enough for her to hear me though.

I watched as the robotic woman finally responded. She turned her upper torso around in my direction. Her glowing blue eyes seemed to lock onto mine. I instinctively took a step back, as the tiniest bit of fear came over me. It didn't help with what she finally said to me.

"I...sAvED YoU...noW, I mUSt KiLL yoU"


	3. Nightmare

**Hey Guys, sorry it's been so long since I updated. I had such a writer's block with this chapter. I wasn't sure If I was gonna get it done at all. Thankfully I managed to stick to it a little at a time and pushed through. I can't wait to start on the next chapter cause that's where things get good with Mykale and Orianna! I can't wait to get started!**

 **(and btw, if you do play league, then you can add me. My name is Xavveina, I'm NA)**

 **Chapter 3: Nightmare**

(This Chapter is told from the POV of Rona)

The forest trees whizzed past me so fast. It got hard to keep my eyes open. I had to squint to stop them from instantly drying out. I should've realized beforehand that I'd be doing this, and brought a facemask or something.

It had been a while since I enchanted my legs to move faster. It wasn't good on my body, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It's not like the Deathmage was gonna give me the leisure to get there in time normally.

"Hey Rona, you think we're gonna make it in time?"

I looked to the big burly man that stood beside me. His armour shook furiously in his attempt to keep up with me. I enchanted his legs too, but it didn't make it any easier to run with all that weight on his back. It was kinda funny to watch him try to keep up though.

"I wish I knew, Connor. I can definitely sense his presence, but I can't tell how far away he is or where he's at." I answered.

"Oh don't worry, it won't be hard to find him once we get there. He left a trail so obvious, a Gromp could find him." The man said with a chuckle.

I couldn't help but smile at that remark, but at the same time an image of the catastrophe that beheld us terrified me. I've seen Deathmage handiwork before, and it was as if God himself passed a poor judgement. Entire cities, decimated in the blink of an eye. A shiver went down my spine as I tried to put that in the "Worst case scenario" part of my thinking.

"By the way, who is that guy? Your boyfriend?" The soldier asked, knocking me out of my daze.

"Hardly, we only just met yesterday. He's the new guy that the League hired. His names Mykale." I answered.

"I had almost forgotten about the whole 'League hiring Mykale' thing with all that happened. It just seemed like it wasn't important anymore. I mean, technically he was supposed to start working today, but it's pretty obvious that that wasn't gonna happen. I was pretty sure that this little corresponding event would be a pretty good excuse though."

Finally the path we were on began to open up. It was obvious we were getting to the clearing. Normally, I'd just teleport to where I needed to go, but that would take up almost all of my mana. It'd take hours for me to regenerate it all, and I needed everything for this situation.

"We're almost to the village. Once we get there, there'll be a straight path through it to get to the capital. I'm assuming you don't normally take this route on foot?" The soldier asked.

"No, it's been years since I've done it. I'm not called to the capital too often, so it's no problem for me to port there when I am. Don't like the attention people give me when I pass through their village. It makes me...uneasy." I said.

"That makes sense. You have always been the anti-social type."

A bright light started to shine on the path in front of us. An archway came into view soon after. The beautifully carved wood looked like it had been made by the Wood fairies themselves. It had been too long since I had seen it, so I couldn't help but smile everytime I did. In the arch was a wall of light.

"Do you still remember what to do?" Connor asked.

"Of course I do! Who do you take me for?" I retorted.

I held my hand up in the sky and began to chant a spell. "Thine Land that's beauty you have kept. Through troubled times and great contempt. I beseech you now, hear my plee. Open up your portal to me."

All at once, the wall of light began to consume itself. A vortex appeared in the center, kinda like how you'd picture a black hole, but white. It began to spin faster and faster as the 2 of them got closer.

"Alright, are you ready?" Rona asked.

I watched as the man backed off for a second. A demeaning look came over his eyes as he stared me down. He folded his arms and gave a hefty snort. He sounded like a pig everytime he did that.

"First, I gotta know one more thing...you took the pill, didn't you?" The man questioned.

A silence broke out. I wasn't necessarily trying to be discrete about it, but I didn't think he saw me take the thing. That, or he just knew me, and assumed I'd take it for a situation like this. I looked away for a second, turning to the portal. I was tempted to try and change the subject. I knew that if I admitted to taking the pill, Connor would give me another lecture. At the same time, I knew I couldn't lie to him.

"Look, whether I took the pill or not, it doesn't matter now. We don't have the time to talk about it." I answered back in a stern voice.

Connor gave me a harsh look for a bit, but loosened it after a while. He breathed a heavy sigh as he let his arms drop.

"Fine, we'll talk about this later" The Soldier answered.

He stepped up to the wall of light, and slowly stuck his hand in. The man winced as the magic began to suck his body in. Almost disintegrating him as it did so. He turned and gave me a quick nod before he was completely pulled through.

I adjusted my robe, preparing myself. I never liked going through these portals, they always tickled me. Which, I guess, was another reason why I didn't like going on foot. I put my wand away in my pocket as I remembered that holding it for too long would drain my power faster. I had to conserve as much of it as I could.

When I reached for the portal, my hand was thrown back with a sharp pain shot through my left arm. The blood felt like it had sped up to 10x the normal speed coursing through me. I instinctively grabbed the arm with my good one, and squeezed tightly. I knew this feeling all too well.

"Cmon, not now! Why does this always happen at the worst times?" I lamented under my breath.

After a short while, the pain subsided. I shook it a few times to make sure the phase was completely over. This same thing happened 6 hours ago. The time span between each one of these spasms was getting shorter. I knew that I was running out of time, but I was gonna use what I had left to the fullest. I quickly clenched my hand a few times before letting it relax. Thankfully it didn't last long when it happened.

Reaching for the portal, I grimaced, letting the magic begin to suck my body in. It tickled like it always did, and I had to fight not to laugh. Who knows what could happen if you went through a portal laughing like that!? I mean, probably nothing, but I'd rather not test it.

In no time, my entire body was pulled in, and a calming feeling went over me. Like I was sinking in a hot tub filled with Orange Jello! How I know what that feels like, I'll never say. Within a matter of seconds, I was completely pulled through, and my body began to take shape again.

I stumbled a bit as my feet hit the ground on the other side. It always felt like you were drunk once you got through a portal. The magic almost puts an intoxication affect on you. It's hard to explain, you'd have to try it for yourself.

Blinking my eyes a few times, I glanced around to make sure I had actually ended up in the right spot. Tall pillars lined a large stone corridor. Statues of past kings and queens stood beside each one. Solid Gold chandeliers lin(fart cakes)ed the roof of the building. It was like I had ported into a castle or something. I didn't remember this place being quite so...over-decorated. It had been around 5 years since I used this portal.

"Wow, they really did a number on this place." I said.

Each step I took echoed throughout the interior. This definitely wasn't a place that someone could sneak into easily. A pin drop would of sounded like a gunshot. A cold breeze went down my spine, taking me by surprise and causing me to jump out of my skin. Thankfully, I was able to hold back the shriek that had welled up in my throat. I could only imagine how that would have sounded in a place like this.

I turned around to see where the wind had come from. All along the walls there were stained glass windows with the image of mythical creatures in each of them. Yet the thing that I was looking for was not there. There was no entrance that the wind could have come from. The building was completely sealed.

Something definitely didn't feel right here. Where were all the guards? This section should be heavily secured, but there was no one in sight. I walked down the corridor, looking left and right for any signs of life. Finally realizing that I had lost track of my companion, I decided to call out to him.

"Connor, where are you?" I yelled.

I waited….no response.

I felt the same cold shiver run down my spine, but this time it was from fear. I ran towards the only opening I saw. A large door at the back of the corridor. I ran up to it, and knocked on it as hard as I could. The sound echoed loudly in the room. I was sure that if anyone was near, they'd of heard it.

"Hello, is there anyone there? I'm Rona, the Archmage! Please, if anyone can hear me, let me in!" I screamed in angst.

Again, I heard no response. In desperation, I shoved on the door as hard as I could. To my great pleasure, it actually began to open. I shoved harder, and a gust of warm air began flowing out from the room. I swatted at my face as the blast had caused it to tickle.

After I finally managed to open the door wide enough, I squeezed through. Closing my eyes as a bright light shone on them. I took a few steps forward, letting my eyes adjust to the light. It didn't take long before I started to make out what looked like a bedroom, and a fancy one at that.

I'd describe what it looked like, but to me, it just looked like a princess had puked out all her life savings into making nonsense. The bed was way too finely detailed, and all the furniture was made from much too expensive wood. And don't even get me started on the water fountain...my gosh, people have way too much time on their hands.

The thing that most confused me though...was this place almost seemed familiar to me. I don't know how, but I knew this over-decorated room. I grazed my hand along the top of a dresser. Someone had been keeping the place tidy, because there wasn't a speck of dust on it. Which meant that I wasn't alone here after all. I opened each of the dresser's draws, but they were all completely empty.

"Why would someone dust an empty dresser?" I asked myself.

" _I would think you'd know, this is your room after all."_ Came a voice from behind me.

I jumped back, screaming at the top of my lungs. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped for a second, because I almost blacked out. I turned around frantically to see who the voice had come from.

In Front of me stood what looked like the ghost of a girl. Her transparent and colorless figure floating in the air with ease. She couldn't have been older than 10. Her long black hair laid managed and unkept down her back. In terror, I grabbed my wand and pointed it hysterically in front of the spectre. I had hoped I could be able to scare the thing away, but instead she shot me a grin that made me uneasy.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I frighten you?" The little girl said mockingly.

I was still trying to get my bearing. I have seen a lot of terrifying things since I became an Archmage, but I had yet to see anything like this. I steadied myself back on my feet, and lowered my wand. Still holding it in a position where I could blast her with the only exorcist spell I knew if needed.

"Who...who are you? What is this place? Is this not the capital?" I asked, trying to calm myself.

The little girl shot me a concerned, yet maniacal look. It caused my legs to shake a little, but it wasn't too noticeable.

"Do you not recognize me? I would think you'd know what your own face looked like." The spectre said.

My eyes widened. It was as if every single nerve and tendon in my body tightened at the same time. This time I lowered my wand completely. I was pretty sure I wouldn't need it anymore, because this wasn't a ghost I was dealing with.

"You...are you saying...that you're...me? Or at least, a memory of me?" I asked hesitantly.

A big, menacing smile covered the girl's face. She threw her hands up in the air, and clapped loudly, laughing while doing it. A shiver went down my spine.

"YES YES, YOU'RE CORRECT! I am a memory that you have forced yourself to forget. You were too scared to face me, so you just abandoned me! DO YOU REMEMBER NOW!?" The girl said, now with anger in her voice.

"Remember what? I don't know what youre talking about." I said nervously. My hand that held the wand shook nervously, never letting go of it.

The girl's expression died down. Her terrifying smile turned solace. She lowered her arms to a fold, and gave a heavy sigh.

"So, you still refuse to remember? Well then, I guess I'll have to MAKE YOU REMEMBER!" The girl said.

A large gust of wind, burst outwards from the girl pushing me back. I was shoved down to the ground, covering my face instinctively. The air was hot. It felt like steam from that of a volcano. Soon, the air died down, and my nostrils were soon filled with the scent of smoke. I opened my eyes to see the room that I was in covered in flames.

I Instinctively threw myself up. Where did the fire come from? How did it start? Did that girl do this? So many questions that I didn't have time to figure out the answer to right now. I covered my mouth, and started heading for the door. Thankfully, the flames hadn't spread throughout the whole room yet.

I made my way to the slight opening in the door that I made. Thankfully the girl didn't close it on me. I would of been trouble if I had to open it again while being in here. I shimmied my way through the crack. I had hoped the smell of fresh air would soon fill my senses, but I was wrong. Instead, the smell of fire and smoke still lingered.

Once I got through the crack, I gasped at the long hallway in front of me. The room was completely different. The hallway looked like that which you would see in a castle. Except for the immense fire that had started accumulating in it of course. I looked back to the room. This was definitely the door that I went through...so what in the world was going on!?

"Connor! Connor, can you hear me!?" I yelled out, hoping for an answer. I was worried what had happened to him. I was hoping he wasn't in the same situation as me. It was pretty obvious though that this wasn't reality. I just wasn't sure WHAT it was, or where I was for that matter.

Without much other choice, I started running through the hallway. Sparks came flying at my face as I went. I swatted at them to keep them out of my face and off my clothes. I had to hold my breathe when I could. I didn't want to breath in more of this smoke then I had to. It was after that that I remembered…..I'm an Archmage. I can put out this fire!

I held my wand up in the air and starting twirling it around like I was mixing something. I closed my eyes, and started chanting the phrase _"From water to ice, I command thine might. Coat the lands with all at your hand!"_...nothing happened.

I stood there with the wand held high. My expression turned sour very fast. What went wrong? I chanted the spell right, didn't I? I decided to try another spell, maybe I forgot a word or something. I moved the wand to just over my head and began chanting again. _"My body is your vessel, and my soul is your king. Grant me this wish for your praise I will sing. Expunge the air of all the unclean, and put out the flames of strength and sustain."..._ Nothing again.

The only thing that I could think was that this place had some magic barrier stuff to it. It couldn't be helped, I tucked my wand back into my pocket and continued down the burning hallway. I stopped before too long after I heard a voice crying out.

"Help, somebody!" It sounded like the voice of a man. I looked around, trying to identify where the voice came from. The man cried out again, and this time I pinpointed his location. My eyes fell upon a large door, engulfed in flames. If there was someone in there, then it wouldn't be long before they were burned alive.

I quickly ran up to the door, and without much hesitation, I gave it a big kick. Thankfully the fire had weakened the doors hinges, otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd of never been able to kick it down. With a crash, the door came crumbling down. Inside the room looked like a furnace. Flames along every inch of the floor and walls. If someone was in here, I don't know how they could still be alive.

Yet again, I heard the man cry out for help. I help my breath and covered my mouth as I entered the room. Once inside, I could feel my body melting as if I was made of wax. I couldn't stay in here too long, that's for sure.

It didn't take me long to see the figure of a man lying on the floor. There were large pillars laying on top of him. Somehow the one spot he was in was the only spot that was not yet engulfed in flames.

"Hey, are you ok?" I yelled to the man while running to his side.

I bent down next to the person, and began to pull on the wooden pillars. I couldn't see his face because of the smoke, but I was pretty sure he was a nobleman due to his attire.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you-"

"Don't bother" The man said in a completely different tone of voice than before.

I stopped abruptly. What was he talking about? He was the one crying out for help! Why would he deny me now that I'm right here. I looked up at the man. The smoke had cleared if only momentarily, and I was able to see his face.

My eyes grew wide as I stared at the man. I could feel my limbs growing weak under me, as I stumbled back. A cold sweat ran down my forehead that didn't come from the heat. I didn't want to believe what I saw, but for some reason my eyes just refused to look away.

"F...father?" I said with a shaky breath.

A menacing smile grew over the man's face as fire began to cover his entire body. Then he laughed like that of a witch, terrifying and full of insanity. Within seconds his entire body was cover in flames, yet he continued to laugh as his body burned.

"Nooooooo!" I screamed. I covered my eyes and looked away.

This couldn't be happening. No matter what I was seeing, this couldn't be real. My body trembled as memories tried to force their way back into my mind. Tear's started running down my face. it was as if I was in a dream, no, a Nightmare! I had to wake up! Somehow, someway, somebody please! Wake me up from this Nightmare!...wait…..That's it!

I threw my body up off the ground, and wiped the tears from my eyes. I knew...I knew what this was now. Once again, I pulled my wand out and placed it over my head, pointing down. This time, I knew what spell I had to use. I closed my eyes, and began chantting.

" _I see thine darkness surround my heart. That barries the souls and tears apart. I beseech ye now, hear my plee. Dispel this Nightmare inside of me!"_

All at once, it was as if time itself had stopped. The flames stood still like a newly molded statue. The man in front of me, frozen, still with that vengeful smile across his face. Even the sweat that came down my face had slowed. I stood in awe and terror at the scene before me.

" **My my, it sure took you long enough to figure it out"** Came the booming voice of a man from all around me.

I had to catch my breath as I spun my head around, trying to find where the source of the voice came from.

"Who are you? Why did you trap me in here? How did you come to know such sacred magic?" I asked frivolously. the voice laughed at my utter confusion.

" **Come now, one question at a time! There's no need to rush things!"** the man said.

"CUT THE CRAP! I am Archmage Ronalia Carmont, and I demand that you release me from this hex AT ONCE!" I said with as much force as I could muster up.

" **Ohhhh, quite a title you have there. I'm almost intimidated."**

All of a sudden the world around me became shrouded by mist. I became tense as a tornado like magic started to swirl in front of me from out of nowhere. I covered my eyes from the wind, but left enough of a space to see what was going on.

From out of the magic stepped a man. He stood embroidered in a long blue cloak, trimmed with gold lace. His long, blonde hair slicked back over his scalp. His demon-like, red eyes pierced through me as if he was sentencing me to death.

It took everything I had to keep my legs from shaking. I knew almost instantly that this had to be the man I was looking for. The magic aura that glowed around him made all of my senses scream, telling me to run for my life. Too bad that wasn't an option at this point.

"You...are you the Deathmage that attacked the Capital?" I asked unsurely.

A creepy smile formed across the man's face. He lifted his hand and snapped his fingers. The mist then lifted and revealed a horrifying sight. I stumbled back on my feet, and clasped my hands over my mouth.

Hundreds of bodies of Men, Women, Children, and Soldiers all laid in piles around me. Blood soaked them from head to toe. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. I collapsed to my knees in terror of what I was seeing. I couldn't speak, couldn't scream, it was almost like I had forgotten how.

" **Do you see? This is what you were supposed to protect. All these people, and you couldn't save a single one of them...pity, isn't it?"** the man said mockingly.

"...why...why did this...how…"

" **You see, it's quite simple really. You failed. You never had a chance to save these people. You can't save anyone. You couldn't even save your own father...don't you remember?"** the mage said mercilessly.

I could feel reality slipping from me as unwanted memories tried to force themselves into my mind. I shook my body fiercely. Why was this happening...I tried so hard to forget...so hard to erase my past...and within moments it was brought back to me.

"This...this isn't real...you're lying...YOU'RE LYING!" I screamed at the man.

" **Hmm...am I?"**

Silence spread throughout the area for a moment. Until at last my ears were met with a voice that caused my heart to sink even further.

"Rona...help me..." Said a familiar voice.

I slowly looked up, letting my eyes met with a face I knew all too well. Tears filled my eyes as I looked at the burly soldier in front of me. Blood and gashes covered his armor. His broken leg and arm showed grotesquely blatant.

"C...Connor?"


	4. Artificial Life

**Chapter 4: Artificial Life**

I wasn't sure how long I had been standing in complete silence. My eyes never moved their gaze from the mechanical girl in front of me. At this point, I didn't know if I should look away. Was this some kind of joke? Did Rona cast some sort of Hallucination spell on me? I wanted to believe that I misheard the metal lady.

"Um...sorry, what?" I asked hesitantly.

The robot girl cocked her head a bit. As if she was trying to point out how simple a statement it was to understand. Before I could say anything, a large metal ball came spinning out from behind the girl. The thing whirled around maniacally as if it had a mind of it's own. One things for sure, I could tell that it wasn't too happy with me. I wanted to point out how that must of been the ball that I saw come rushing to me when this lady saved me, but I assumed that wasn't a topic to bring up at this point in time.

"So...uh...why exactly do you need to kill me?" I asked, trying to keep a straight face. I figure if I'm gonna die, I want to atleast know why.

The iron woman glanced over me, as if she was trying to verify if I was an idiot or not. When x-ray vision came to mind, I inadvertently started to cover up my important parts. After what seemed like a minute, she finally spoke.

"ArE yoU Not aFrAId?" She said in a calm tone. As she said that, the living ball floated back over to the woman's side.

Now I was even more confused. First, she talks to me with murderous intent in her voice, and now she's talking like she has sympathy for me. Maybe she did figure out I was an idiot...

"Um...It isn't like I'm not afraid. I'm just...more confused than anything. Either way, I'm not really the kind of person that likes pleading for their life. I just want to know why." I asked, stiffening my shoulders, trying to look tough.

After a few moments passed, I slowly loosened my shoulders more and more. The lady just kept standing there...staring at me. All while the ball kept moving like an antsy 5 year old on Christmas. I was sure it was gonna come charging at me any minute.

"yOU're...vErY StrAnGE." The lady finally said.

A quirky cringe came over my face. After all that wait, THAT'S what she says...after a while though, I couldn't help but snicker at the robotic ladies confusion. I guess if I was in her situation, I'd be pretty distraught too. I saw as the ball and girl looked at each other for a second before looking back to me. Great, now I confused the ball too...there's some joke in there...ah, forget it.

"DiD I saY SoMEtHinG aMusInG?" The metal lady asked.

"Haha, sorry, I just love how people always get so confused when I act completely calm about getting my life threatened." I answered.

"I sEE...YoU MusT bE a ReAllY BRaVe pErSOn." the girl responded.

"Eh, not really. It's more stupidity than anything. I'm too dumb to know when I should be afraid." I answered nonchalantly.

There was silence for a few moments again. It looked as if the robotic woman was trying to hold something back. I figured out what it was shortly after when I heard a metallic laugh come from her. It only lasted about a second though before she quickly covered her mouth with her hand.

"HEY, YOU JUST LAUGHED! DO IT AGAIN!" I exclaimed profoundly.

The girl took a step back in shock from my sudden outburst. The ball started frantically spinning in a circle now. I couldn't tell if the thing was overjoyed or pissed off. It's really hard to tell what a ball's feeling...gosh, I gotta stop saying it like that.

"I...I don't know what you're talking about." The metal girl said in an...actually normal voice. Well, as normal as a robot can sound anyway.

"HEY, your voice changed! It's less...roboticy now." I said, cringing at my own made up word.

A look of anger came over the iron woman's face again. Her expressions were alot more lifelike then they were before. It was almost like she was a complete different person...or...robot, in this case. Then all at once the girl straightened herself back up.

"I dOn'T KnoW WhAT yOu'Re TaLKiNg AboUT."

"DON'T DENY ME!"

Without hesitation the metal lady pointed out her hand towards me. I watched as the ball next to her appeared to ready itself. It whirred like a motor starting up. Something tells me I wasn't going to like what happened next.

"RaVAge" The woman commanded.

The ball then charged at me with full force. If I blinked I knew for sure that I'd of been plowed over. I instinctively hurled my body to the side, throwing myself out of the way of the rampaging metal ball. I could feel the gust of wind that it picked up when it whizzed by me.

"HEY, can we talk about this!?" I asked in as sweet of a voice that I could muster up under these circumstances.

The robotic woman paid me no head as she then pursued to point out more commands. Before I had time to think, the ball came back towards me at lightning speed. I picked myself up into a bear stance, and lunged to the side once again. This time not completely succeeding. I winced as the ball grazed my right leg. It felt like I had been nicked by a Cannonball.

"I don't remember Dodgeball being this violent and deadly!" I said, clenching my slightly injured leg.

The clockwork lady appeared to pay my snarky remark no heed. Once again she pointed her hand back at me, commanding the ball to charge at me for a 3rd time. The ball readied itself, and came back full force. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to dodge it this time. Was this it for me? Was I really going to die by getting a ball smashed into my face?...again, I NEED TO STOP SAYING IT LIKE THAT!

"ORIANNA, WAIT!" I yelled as loud as I could. I knew this was probably the more pathetic last ditch effort, but what other choice did I have?

I closed my eyes and readied myself for the inevitable…...I waited there about 5 seconds before I realized 'I should probably be dead by now'. I reluctantly opened my eyes to see the ball a mere foot from me. I wasn't sure whether to breath a sigh of relief, or close my eyes again.

"YoU...hoW dO yoU KNow My nAMe? The woman asked.

I reluctantly let my hands relax as I looked back up. Orianna now had a curious look on her face. The murderous intent in her eyes were gone. Talk about having a 180. I didn't want to get to comfortable though, that ball was still giving me the stink eye.

"I...told my friend about you. When you saved me from falling to my untimely death. I really wanted to know who you were. You know, cause I thought I might of just dreamed it all. She then gave me a book, and it had a picture with you. I was happy to find that you were real." I answered.

Orianna cocked her head slightly in interest. I could tell that she wanted to ask more questions. Even though she was a robot, she was pretty easy to read. The ball then gradually whirled it's way back to the woman's side. I finally let myself relax this time. Maybe I could actually get through to her now.

"Look, I'm not sure what I did, but I'd like to atleast know WHY you want to kill me before you actually do." I asked earnestly.

The Metal Lady continued to examine me. It was like she was scanning for drugs or something. Then, she started to walk towards me slowly. Surprised, I inadvertently took a few steps back. The ball flew high into the air and made a few circles around me.

I could swear that the thing was creating a magical cage to trap me in.

"whY...DiD yOu WaNT tO KnOw wHo I WAs? dID I Not fRiGHteN yoU?" The woman asked, continuing to walk towards me at a slow pace.

"Well...I mean, ofcourse I did. You saved me afterall. However insignificant that may be to you, it's important to me." I responded.

Orianna stopped walking towards me. It was hard to tell, but I'm pretty sure what I said surprised her. The ball shot back over the woman's shoulder. It nudged her a bit like it was trying to tell her to snap out of it.

"wHat...iS YoUR nAmE?" The woman asked.

Now it was my turn to look surprised. From starting out with wanting to kill me, to now this, I wasn't sure what to make of the situation. One things for sure, I could tell that her desire to kill me wasn't that strong. So long as she didn't want to actually kill me now, I figured that I might as well let the topic drop. I could figure out later, why...hopefully.

"My names Mykale. I'd ask what yours is, but we kinda already established that." I said with a chuckle.

The clockwork lady stood there for a bit, just staring at me. It would of awkwarded me out if she wasn't a robot. I figured that was a pretty normal thing for them to do. Especially one with this high of intelligence. A part of her seemed almost too human to be machine.

"My...kALe?" The robotic girl said.

"Yep, that's it" I responded.

After a bit the woman started walking up to me again. I would of backed away, but I saw no murderous intent in her glowing blue eyes. I figured I would just let her do her robotic thing and examine me all she wanted. Well, I mean...NOT EVERYTHING! Had to keep a few things secret.

Orianna came only a few feet from me before she finally stopped. I could finally get a full view of her. Her entire body was made up of a beautiful Silver with Brass trim on her joints and other various places, including her hair. Yes, her hair was even made of metal. But somehow it managed to sway in the wind, almost like real hair.

I was in such awe, that I didn't notice the woman's hand come up to my face. I jumped a bit when the cold metal touched my skin. Definitely wasn't expecting that. I'd ask if she's ever heard of personal space, but I'm pretty sure I could already guess the answer.

"My...kALe...yOu...hAve A sTRaNgE FacE."

…...

…..

…

...well then...didn't see that coming. After gawking dumbfoundedly at the woman for about 5 seconds, the whole hilarity of the situation got to me, so much so that I started laughing. I laughed so hard that I almost fell down. Orianna inevitably backed away from shock

"yOu LAugH AgAin. wHY dO I AmuSE yOU So mUCh?" The robotic woman asked.

"Haha, I just wasn't expecting that. I know I've been called strange by a good many people, but that was the first time someone ever said that I had a strange face." I responded.

The woman looked at me confused. She cocked her head to the side, letting her metallic hair sway in the wind only slightly. Her eyes seemed to lock onto mine, as if she was staring deep into my soul. I could feel tension in my spine, making my body shiver.

"yOu MIsUndErStaND Me. YoUR fAce...Is hOnESt. I sEe...TRutH...pUrITy. It iS sTRaNge BeCAusE...iT Is SoMeTHing I hAvE NEveR sEen BeFOrE." Orianna responded.

If ever there was a moment in my life that I was utterly speechless, it was right now. I stared at the metal lady with wide eyes, trying to process what she just said. Honesty...Truth...Purity...she saw all those things in me? I felt an imaginary weight fall onto my back, as overwhelming responsibility to be a better person washed over me.

"I...uh...eh, are you sure you're looking at the right person? Because that doesn't sound like me at all. I mean...I'm just a normal guy. No more, no less." I answered.

Orianna looked at me as if I was the stupidest person in the world. Why does it seem like everyone gives me that look the first time they meet me? She made it blatantly obvious that she opposed what I said. Crap, maybe I should of just agreed with her. If she hadn't told me that I had an honest face I wouldn't of felt so inclined to tell the truth.

The metal ball, that had been rolling around in the grass for the longest time, bored out of it's mind, shot back up into the air. It rushed over to the woman's side and started frantically hissing it's gears.

The robotic lady gave the mechanical sphere a concerned look before patting it a few times. A meek smile colored her face, making her look more human than machine. The ball appeared to calm down with every pat the woman gave it. I couldn't help but smile along with the robot.

"That ball, is he your friend?" I asked.

Orianna didn't pay me any head for a while. I thought she might of not heard what I said. Soon enough though, the woman responded with a mere nod of her head. The ball spun in delight from the metal ladies affection. I had to admit, seeing two machines interact with each other in this way...was pretty amazing.

I flinched as I felt a strong gust of wind hit my face. It was as if something had flown right past me at lightning speed. My thoughts were soon confirmed when I heard a large clunk. I watched as the ball got flown back with that same heavy force. Orianna belted out a robotic gasp, before running over to her friends side. I saw now what the heavy force was. An arrow, jutted out of the side of the ball.

My first initial thought was how an arrow could possibly penetrate a solid steel ball, but my focus quickly went to who the culprit was. I threw my head around in every direction, trying to see any sign of anyone.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" I yelled.

I jumped back as another arrow planted itself in the ground, right in front of me. I just about lost my balance. The arrow that had been shot went through the ground almost completely, only the feathered end could be seen sticking out of the dirt. Whoever was shooting knew how to use a bow, I knew that for a fact. I came to attention when I heard the voice of a woman.

"You there, what do you think you're doing?" the voice asked. I readied myself for another arrow to come.

"Me? I should be asking you that! You're the one shooting the arrows!" I responded.

I looked back to check on Orianna. She had already pulled the arrow out of the ball, and was petting the spot where it hit. I saw a look of sorrow in her metal face. Definitely not something you see in a robot too often. My attention was grabbed again as I saw another arrow out of the corner of my eye, fly overhead me. It headed straight for the mechanical lady. I felt an instant rush of adrenaline as I took off towards her. I was sure I wouldn't make it in time, but my body just moved on it's own.

"ORIANNA, WATCH OUT!" I yelled.

In the blink of an eye, I saw the robot fling her arm around and smack the arrow out of the air. I was so surprised that I almost tripped while running to her. I looked to see the eyes of pure rage from her. The same look she had when she first started attacking me. I felt a shiver run down my spine.

"My my, you sure have some quick reactions, don't you? I must say, I'm impressed. Maybe you'll actually prove to be a challenge for me." The woman said, still outside of my vision.

Orianna stood back up on her feet. I saw her pull out some sort of star shaped objects from her side. I wasn't sure if I should get close to her anymore. She looked like she would kill anyone that even tried to approach her without a second thought.

Before I had time to make a decision of what to do now, another arrow came flying through the air, right towards the robotic girl again. This time the arrow seemed to have a tornade riding around it. I could tell right away that it had been hexed. Whoever shot the arrow knew how to use magic as well.

The Metal Lady threw her hands out infront of her. A glowing yellow light appeared from her palms, and shaped into a large magic shield. I stared in awe. I had never seen magic like that before. Especially done without a wand. I watched as the arrow went into the shield, and consumed it hole, evaporating the shield as it entered.

"ReTurN"

With a burst of magic, I saw as the arrow came back out of the chrome ladies palms, heading straight back in the direction it shot. As well I saw her toss one of those stars she held, right behind the arrow.

The arrow soon went out of view and exploded somewhere far in the distance. For a while, there was silence. I thought that maybe the robotic woman had done it. That idea was soon put down as I started hearing footsteps. I looked into the darkness where the arrow had left, and saw a woman slowly start walking out of it. The first thing I noticed was the star weapon that Orianna had thrown, lodged into her shoulder.

"Yes, really impressive. You used repel magic to turn my own attack against me, and knowing I'd dodge, you attacked back predicting where it is I'd dodge to. The trajectory of my shot told you exactly where I was too, didn't it? Not too bad at all." The woman said as she pulled the star weapon out of her shoulder.

The woman finally stepped into the light, and I got a good look at her. She wore tattered leather armour. The kind that you'd normally see bandits and outlaws wear. She held a brick red recurved bow in her right arm. Her short, pitch black hair blew frantically in the breeze. I'd say she looked fairly attractive if she wasn't trying to kill us at the moment.

Orianna held her ground, and just stared down the bandit woman. She readied two more of her throwing stars, one in each hand. I knew things were about to go down when I saw the black haired woman sheath another arrow, and notch it on her bow. I had to find someway to stop this or one of them was going to die. I threw myself up onto my feet.

"Stop! Why are you doing this!?" I yelled to the archer lady. My attempts were unsuccessful as she launched the arrow from her bow. Another tornado formed around it, same as before. It moved so fast, I could barely even get a good look at the thing. Thankfully, the robot had quicker reactions than me.

The metal lady threw her arms up in the air and threw both of her stars, one after the other. I watched in amazement as the first star cut through the tornado like a butter knife, completely dispelling the magic around it. The next star then cut through the arrow itself, splitting the thing right in half. It all happened so fast, I couldn't believe that I was actually able to see what happened.

The black haired woman's face turned to a pure white.

"What!? How did you...you dispelled my magic! Don't tell me those puny little stars did that?" The bow woman asked.

Orianna gave a small nod as she pulled out another star from her side. Where she was pulling these things out of, I had no idea.

"MaGiC cAncElLaTIon." the mechanical girl answered.

I had heard of that before. Some weapons could be given the ability to cancel magic upon making contact with it directly. Only an extremely skilled mage, renowned in the art of aura crafting had the ability to do this. In a way, it was kinda like putting a curse on a weapon. Or maybe in this case, a blessing.

The bandit lady scoffed as she threw her bow back over her shoulders. She sheathed two long, serrated daggers out from her back.

"Fine, then I guess I'm just going to have to attack you directly." the black haired lady said.

In the blink of an eye, the woman disappeared. Before me or Orianna could react, the woman appeared again right behind the metal lady. With her weapons raised, I knew that this wasn't going to end well. I don't think I've ever moved so fast in my life when I threw myself at the woman. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it, but just like before, my body just moved on it's own.

"DIE!" The black haired woman said as she brought her weapons down towards the nape of the robot's neck.

I wasn't sure all that happened in that short span of time, but what I do know is that I quickly felt a sharp pain on my chest. I winced as the daggers cut across my body. How though...I was sure that I wouldn't make it in time. I coughed hard as blood filled my mouth.

The black haired woman took a step back in shock. I'm pretty sure she didn't expect me to be there either. Her eyes went from a look of surprise, to a look of anger really fast.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!? Why are you protecting this...machine? Did you forget that she tried to kill you earlier?" The woman asked in a rage.

I grabbed my chest and clenched it. I tried my best to stop the bleeding. I couldn't afford to pass out now. I stood back up on feet, barely able to stand. My body shook from the amount of blood I had already lost.

I turned back to look at the mechanical girl behind me. Her face filled with confusion and wonder. I could tell that she didn't understand why I did what I did either. For that matter, even I wasn't sure why I did it. I'm sure she could've retaliated back on the dark haired woman. I mean, she is made of metal after all, can she even be cut? I clenched my fist as all these doubts ran through my head.

"Hehe, dang, I guess I really am an Idiot. Not even my own body would listen to me, it just moved on it's own. You probably didn't even need saving. Sorry I jumped in like that, are you alright atleast?" I asked the robot, trying my best to avoid coughing up more blood.

Orianna's face grew bright. I saw her eyes widen in surprise. The blue glow from her pupils began to shine. I woulda swore that she was human after seeing this expression.

"...yOu...PrOteCTeD mE." The metal lady said.

"Hm, yeah...I guess I did. That means we're even now, right?" I responded with a smirk.

Without warning I was tossed to the side like a ragdoll. I yelled as my wounded body skidded across the dirt. My chest burned all over, I felt like I was going to melt. I heard the robotic woman mutter my name in distress as I was thrown. I wasn't sure If I was just hearing things though.

"Well, I can agree with you on one thing, you really are an idiot." The black haired woman said. "Do you really think this thing cares that you jumped in to save her? Here's a newsflash for you, SHE'S A ROBOT! An emotionless, uncaring, unFEELING, machine! Anything human you think you see in her is simply programming. Get that through your thick skull."

I cringed as I held my injuries tight. Was she right? Was everything that I saw from Orianna...just a program? Was nothing she did real at all? I mean...it's not like I wanted her to be human...did I? Now even more thoughts were filling my head. My brain was starting to hurt.

I used all the strength that I had and forced myself back on my feet again. Every muscle in my body was burning. I wasn't sure what kept pushing me on, but whatever it was, it wasn't stopping now. I gritted my teeth as I shot the bandit woman a look of pity. I saw her eyes began to fume with rage.

"Ya know...maybe you're right. Maybe nothing about her is real. Maybe everything I've seen so far...is just a program." I answered back.

I took a few wobbly steps towards the black haired girl. I saw her hold up her blades, ready to strike me down and kill me. I wasn't afraid though...because...I knew now. I finally figured out why I kept pushing myself. I finally figured out why I kept getting back up.

"Then if you know that, then why are you still trying to protect her?" The woman said in anger.

I looked to Orianna who now had a worried look on her face. Maybe an artificial one...but a worried look none the less. I finally got back to the spot I was at before. Right between the metal lady and the bandit woman. I threw my arms up to the side, and held my ground.

"Why...It's simple really" I said, looking up to the black haired woman with a stern look.

"IT'S BECAUSE LIFE IS STILL LIFE, WHETHER IT'S ARTIFICIAL OR NOT!" I yelled profoundly.

The archer ladies face got so white, I woulda swore that she saw a ghost. The entire area got silent for a pretty long time. I kept standing there with my arms out, looking like an idiot. As time went on, what I said kept sounding more and more stupid in my head. So much to the point that I started feeling ashamed of myself and the fact that I never thought about what came out of my mouth, I just said what I was thinking.

After what seemed like an eternity, the silence was broken when the black haired woman started to break out into laughter. I'm so done now, I don't know what's going on anymore. I just said the most profound thing I've ever said in my entire life, and it came back to bite me in the butt. Just kill me now...I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm close to dead already.

"HAHAHA, You're something else, let me tell you. Definitely would make the record books for dumbest idiot ever." The woman said with a chuckle

All of the rage that came from the black haired girl's expression was gone. Instead, she had a smile on her face now. She sheathed her daggers after a bit, and folded her arms mockingly.

"Alright, fine, you want to protect this machine, then go for it. Sigh, I guess I'll just have to take another 10 bounty hunts to make up for how much I'm going to lose with this one." The bandit woman said.

Now it was my turn to look surprised.

"Wait, bounty...are you a, uh…"

"Bounty Hunter? Yep, that's me. This little lady right here has been wanted for quite a while. 10 million Gold pieces isn't anything to scoff at. Many other Bounty Hunters have tried to catch her, but they've all failed. After seeing her fight personally, I can see why now." The woman said.

Wait...she's been hunted by several different bounty hunters? I turned to look at the mechanical girl again. She still had the same confused look on her face. I wonder though...could that be why...why she tried to kill me? Did she think I was another Bounty Hunter?

"Wait, why was she wanted in the first place?" I asked the black haired hunter.

The woman gave me a smirk before she turned the other direction. She waved goodbye with her two fingers as she started walking away.

"Sorry, but that's something you'll need to ask her yourself. It's too early in the story to reveal that plot point yet." The woman said.

Uhh...wait, wut? Did she just break the 4th wall?

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot." The bounty hunter said, looking back at me. "The names Ember. Maybe I'll be seeing you around soon if you're still hanging around with that robot. Toodles" The woman said before finally signing off, and walking into the darkness of the forest.

I really hoped she wasn't being serious about that. Last thing I wanted to do was to run into her again. I looked back to the mechanical girl and gave her a big smile. Her expression hadn't changed this entire time. I wondered whether everything she did really was programming. Even so, I don't regret what I did.

"Welp, glad that's over wiiiiiiitth-"

I felt my body get heavy as pure exhaustion came over me. I guess all the adrenaline I had built up wore off. I collapsed on the ground in a heap. I felt my consciousness slipping from me. For some reason I was getting a strong sense of Dejavu.

Before I passed out I felt Orianna's cold, metal hands touch my face. I don't know why, but the sensation felt really...soothing. The last thing I remember was the metal lady saying to me.

"tHanK YoU."

Then I blacked out.

 **Thank you guys for reading till the end. I really appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far. It's really helping me to keep writing. I may end up reuploading this chapter because I'm having a friend read it and give me feedback on somethings I should change. I'd wait for him but...I'm too impatient. I mean, I'm not going to change too much if anything...I hope *wink wink***

 **Anyway, if you want more, then make sure to leave me a comment. It really motivates me whenever I read reviews from you guys. :D**


	5. Broken Memories

**Hey guys, been awhile, hasn't it? This chapter took a while cause I just couldn't figure out what to do for it. I spent so long just trying to figure out what path I wanted to take. I eventually got to the point where I just said "screw it" and I let the story go wherever it went. What came out...was alot different then what I was planning, but I actually kinda like it! To those who don't care about either Rona or Connor, and are just here to read about Orianna, I hear ya. I'm the same way with writing this story, but even so, I don't feel like I should neglect these characters. I want to give everyone really good development in this story. So hopefully you guys can give this chapter a shot, and tell me what you think. THANKS! :D**

 **Chapter 5: Broken Memories**

(This Chapter is told from the POV of Connor)

When I stepped through the portal, my body felt like it was being twisted and turned in several directions. I had gone through this thing before, and this isn't what it was supposed to feel like. My body ached as I began to merge through the other side. I felt my legs strain as I took my first step. With a groan, I pulled the rest of my body through, and collapsed on the other side.

"What…*pant*...the heck was that?" I said, trying to catch my breath.

I looked up, only to have my eyes meet with an unfamiliar view. I was surrounded by a forest. Trees on every side of me. Now, i'm no expert on this kinda stuff, but I'm pretty sure that this WASN'T the capital.

I soon felt a cold draft hit my skin. I instinctively looked down at my body, only to realize that my armor was gone. Instead, I was wearing a tattered tunic, and leather boots. I would guess that the portal must have somehow dematerialized my armor, and never rematerialized it. The most confusing part was the fact that I wasn't even wearing this outfit under it, so why was I wearing it now? Since when could this portal magically change my clothes?

I took a moment to find my bearings. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I had to figure out a way out of here, and fast. For all I knew, the Deathmage could've already destroyed the town by now. My heart sunk as I let that thought into my head. I quickly shook it out when I knew that that kind of thinking wouldn't help the situation.

"Hello, is anyone out there!?" I yelled. I knew this wasn't the most tactful strategy, but I wasn't at liberty to be very tactful right now.

After waiting about a minute with no response, I started walking. Nowhere in particular, just walking. There was no point in running when I had no idea where I was going. Plus, if I was going in the wrong direction, then that'd make things worse.

I kept a wary eye of my surrounding. Taking note of every tree I came across, as to avoid getting turned around. My Dad always told me that If I ever get lost in the forest, just to picture every tree as a naked woman. That way I wouldn't forget them. I'm ashamed to say that that strategy worked way too well.

After walking for what seemed like an eternity, I stopped to try my hand at calling out again. My Dad always said that if you get lost, and you're alone, make sure to let any ladies around know that you're single and looking! Well, that's how he put it anyway.

"HELLOOOO, CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!?" I yelled again, much louder than before.

I waited again for about a minute with no response. I sighed as I started back on my way, but I didn't take a single step before I was stopped by something hard, smacking me in the back of the head. I winced in pain, grabbing the spot where the object hit.

"Hey, who threw that?" I shouted out.

I threw my body around in every direction, trying to find the culprit. I instinctively reached for my sword, only to be reminded that I was no longer in my suit. My weapon was gone too. If this was a bandit of some kind, then I had no means to protect myself aside from my fists. I readied myself for another attack.

Without a second thought, out of the corner of my eye, I saw another small object flying towards me. Thankfully I was ready this time, and caught the thing in mid air. I grit my teeth in pain again. Catching something barehanded like this probably wasn't the best idea. I opened my throbbing palm to see nothing more than a rock.

"Are you...afraid?" Came the voice of a child.

With a shock, I threw my head around, towards where the voice came from. Are you telling me a kid threw this? Well, it was safe to say that I was much less worried now. I let my arms relax to my side.

"No, not particularly. Should I be?" I asked.

I waited for a bit before I heard the sound of leaves and grass being rustled. The outlines of a little boy slowly started to come into view. His unkempt hair looked like it hadn't been washed in months. His pants were ripped and torn. He had only one shoe, on his right foot, and no shirt. In his hand he held a slingshot. That explained why the rocks hurt so bad. The strangest thing of all though...I felt like I knew this kid.

I sat back on my heels, and folded my arms. I wasn't sure whether or not I should feel threatened. The child hesitantly started to load another stone into his slingshot. I saw a look of desperation in his eyes. It was a look...I knew all too well.

"H-hey now, no need to resort to that. I'm not your enemy, ok?" I reprimanded.

The little boy seemed to pay me no heed, as he proceeded to pull the sling back. I gave a big sigh, lowering my arms to my side. I guess my only option at this point was to prove that I wasn't a threat by taking a few hits. If I did that without attempting to fight back, then that was sure to convince him.

After about 10 seconds of waiting for the shot, the look in the kids eyes began to change. Now, he had the look of curiosity about him. I guess he wasn't used to people just accepting pain so willingly.

"Why...you not angry?" The kid asked.

That response alone already told so much about this kid. Angry...hearing something like that tells me that he must of been raised in a bad home to assume I'd be angry for him attacking me out of the blue. A Dad that has the temper of a bull, and is just as violent...yeah, I really knew that all too well. I let a smile color my face.

"Hey, I'd be cautious too if a strange man came walking into my home unannounced. You must be really brave to stand up to an adult like me. It's admirable." I answered.

The boy slowly started to lower the slingshot. I guess what I said must of atleast somewhat convinced him. His eyes still held the same curious expression.

My body flinched a bit as I remembered what happened to me, and where I was. I didn't have time to stand around and talk. I got down on my knees, attempting to get to the kids level. He instinctively took a few steps back.

"By the way, do you mind telling me where I am? I kinda got separated from my companion." I asked.

I watched for a while as the child just stared me down, studying me. I soon felt a cold chill run down my spine. I shivered my body a slight bit. The atmosphere around me started to feel like it was closing in on itself. The light started to fade as well. Was it already this close to night time? How long was I in that portal for?

"Wow, the weather sure changed fast." I said, rubbing my bare arms.

Soon after, I felt the wind start to pick up too. All that came to mind was a storm. There must of been one coming, and it was coming fast. I looked back to the child, and was surprised by what I saw.

He still stood there...staring at me in a daze, as if nothing was happening around him. The wind blew his matted hair back and forth, but he stood solid. It was almost like I was looking at a statue.

"Hey, kid, you gotta get out of here! Go find some shelter, I will-"

" **SILENCE**!"

After the boy said that, I saw his face change. A menacing smile came over his face. His eyes grew dark, and demeaning. A cold shiver ran down my spine, and this time it wasn't because of the weather. It was like I was looking at the face of a demon.

 **"TELL ME CONNOR, ARE YOU AFRAID NOW!? YOU'VE FORGOTTEN, HAVEN'T YOU!?"** The boy said in a shrill and terrifying voice.

I could feel my body become stiff. How...how did he know my name? What was going on here!? I could feel drops of sweat run down my face. It had been a long time since I felt this much fear. I attempted to straighten my body out, only barely being able to.

"What...who...I don't know what you're talking about! Forget what?" I asked, my voice shaking.

My whole body jumped after I heard the crack of thunder. Rain, poured out of the sky, drenching me from head to toe within seconds. The wind furiously shook the trees back and forth. Leaves flew all around me. It was like I was being sucked into a tornado.

I staggered to my feet. I planted myself hard on the ground as to try and avoid being knocked over by the wind. The leaves smacked against my face and body. You'd think those tiny little things wouldn't hurt, but they sure did here. I got my bearings, trying to take in what was going on around me.

It was painfully obvious to me now that the place I was in, wasn't real. Everything I was seeing was just a figment of my imagination. Magic like this, where you controlled the weather, wasn't possible in the real world. Not even a Deathmage could pull off feats like this. The only place where magic like this could take place...was in a Nightmare.

"So...tell me...who are you really?" I asked, still trying to keep my balance. Once I realized that none of this was actually happening, it became a lot easier to think straight.

The child's face turned even more demonic than before. Sparks started to shoot out from his body. His eyes began to glow a bright red. I could feel the atmosphere's pressure begin to increase. My body became heavier by the second. I clenched my fists and stood strong.

 **"Who...am I? I AM THE MEMORY THAT YOU HAVE FORCED YOURSELF TO FORGET! I AM ALL YOUR MISERY THAT YOU CAST AWAY! I...AM...YOU!"** The demon boy answered.

An instant after he said that, lightning came down and struck the child. I was taken back in shock as I heard the blood curdling screams from the child. It caused the hair on my back to stand up. The boy's body began to glow bright as the lightning coursed through his body.

Without hesitation, I ran as fast as I could to the boys side. I didn't let myself think, or else I probably wouldn't of done anything. I threw my hands on the boy's shoulders and began to shake him.

"Hey, snap out of i-erghraaAAAAHHHH!"

Seconds after I touched the child, the electrical current made it's way through my skin. I screamed in pain as my body started to convulse. I dropped to my knees, unable to let go of the boy. A feeling of deja vu began to came over me. Even while I was in so much pain, my mind still seemed to remember a feeling like this.

I managed to open my eyes slightly. I looked up at the demon child too see his glowing red eyes now glaring down at me. Then...I saw tears...tears started to roll down his face. The red from his eyes turned back to a regular blue. His face turned back to that of a human.

 **"Please...don't forget me"** The boy said.

Suddenly, the world around me...just...vanished. The boy that I was holding faded away into the darkness. I felt my body be relieved from the electrical shock. In an instant...I was sitting in complete nothingness.

Everywhere around me was pitch black. The ground that I sat on still felt like grass, but I wasn't so sure if it really was that. It was like the void opened up and swallowed me whole. I wanted to stand back up on my feet, but my legs just wouldn't respond to me. I'm guessing the shock from the lightning must of disabled them. Really hope it wasn't permanent.

I began to go over all the other parts of my body to see if they still functioned well. Thankfully, it seemed like my legs were the only thing that the lightning paralyzed. But what was I supposed to do now? Where was I for that matter? Was I still in that world? Was I actually swallowed by the void? So many questions filled up inside my head, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't get answers to them.

I placed my hands on the ground in front of me and began to drag myself along. I didn't know where I was going, nor did I know if there was even any place to go, but anything was better than just sitting in one place for hours.

It didn't take long before my hands touched something hard. I only had to feel around the object a little before I figured out what it was. It was a root. I followed the root up, letting my hands graze along the bark of a tree. Even though I couldn't see it, I could still feel it was there.

Was I still in that world then? Did everything just become really dark? What kind of magic could do something like this? I mean, if it was even magic at all. Maybe I was still in the portal, and this was some sort of...weird...loophole or something. Was something like that even possible? Could I do anything else besides ask questions at this point?

I grunted as I tried to move my legs again, using the tree to try and brace myself. They were able to move this time, but no where near enough to stand. I fell back down on my knees. Well, atleast this told me that the damage wasn't permanent. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't walk again.

My body shivered as a I felt a cold breeze run down my back. I threw my head around in shock. My eyes met with the same darkness I had been looking at for a while now. Was that just the wind? It didn't feel like a normal breeze. It was almost like someone was breathing down my neck.

I almost jumped out of my skin when I started to hear voices softly echo out of the dark. They came from all around me. My heart started to beat so fast, I thought it would burst outta my chest. At first, I couldn't make out what the voices were saying, but after they got louder I could finally start to make it out.

"The cursed child is among us."

"No, stay away demon!"

"How is it he lives?"

"Kill him! be rid of this monster!"

Were just a few things that they were saying.

I felt my body tremble. I could barely move, it was like I was glued to where I sat. My hands clenched the grass in between my fingers. Drops of sweat starting to drip off of my face.

"Who...are you people? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS!?" I yelled out into the darkness.

As I said that, the voices suddenly stopped. The same silence as before filled the void. I sensed no presence around me, yet it still felt like I was being watched. I gritted my teeth. It seemed like I was just waiting here for my inevitable death to happen. There was nothing I could do, I felt so helpless.

My heart skipped a beat, as I felt an image start to form in front of me. It was hard to tell, but it looked like the image of a child. I was really hoping it wasn't the same one from before. The image started to walk slowly closer to me, becoming a little more clear with every step.

"Hello, who's there?" I asked.

After a while, I could finally make out that the child was a little girl. She wore a beautiful, pink dress. Her long blonde hair laid flat down her back. From what I could tell, she looked like a princess. A big smile filled her face as she walked towards me.

As the girl got closer, she became more and more clear to me. So much so that I finally recognized who she was. My eyes grew wide with shock. I'd of probably collapsed to the ground if I wasn't already sitting.

The girl got within 10 feet of me before she stopped. She gave me a curtsy before sitting down on the ground with me. I stared into her deep blue eyes, finding it hard to believe who it was I was staring at. My mouth shook as I tried to find the words to say.

"R-...Rona...is that...is that you?" I asked.

The little girl giggled with delight at the sound of her name. She placed her hands on the ground, just like I did, and nodded her head frantically. I instinctively brought my hands to my face, and rubbed my eyes hard, looking back at the child to make sure that I wasn't really seeing things.

"But...how?...How are you here...why are you...ughh, I'm so confused." I said, scratching the back of my head in frustration.

The girl returned back the same confused look that I had. With a grunt, she threw her hands up in the air, and planted her face on the ground. She looked like an ostrich trying to bury her head. I had no idea what she was trying to say by doing that.

"Uhhh…are you okay?" I asked.

The princess proceeded to roll around on the ground for a while before picking herself back up. She looked at me with a huge smile on her face. Her now matted hair all tangled down her back. I couldn't help but return a smile.

"Well, you're definitely as rambunctious as Rona was. Hey, can you speak?" I asked curiously.

The girl seemed to completely ignore my question. I watched as her attention got pulled away by something next to her. Her eyes grew big with excitement. She reached down and grabbed it from the darkness. She cupped whatever the thing was in her hands.

"Hey, what've you got there?" I asked.

The child laughed joyously as she held out her hands to me. I was pretty confused at first. I looked to the girl, then to her hands, and back.

"What, you want me to take it?" I wondered.

The little girl nodded her head frantically again. I was pretty hesitant to take it. I slowly reached my hand out to hers. The girl placed her cupped hands in mine and opened them. I felt a warm, slimy creature start moving around on my palm.

Once the girl moved her hands, I saw the little frog that she had placed in mine. The thing was tiny. It had to of been a baby. It just sat there, looking at me with it's big eyes.

A warm feeling came over me. I remember, Rona and me used to always go frog hunting. I could never get any of my friends to go, because they all found frogs gross. Go figure, right? Then Rona came along. When she first met me, the very first thing she did was drop a frog on my hair. I laughed after picturing that. The frog responded with a croak.

I looked up to the little girl. She seemed very pleased with my response. She rocked back and forth on her knees, humming a familiar toon with a smirk on her face. It was almost like I was a kid again. If it wasn't for the darkness surrounding me, I might have been able to believe that.

 **"Do you remember now?"** A voice said in my head.

My body shook as the shrill voice echoed in my mind. I looked to the girl, half expecting it to be her that said that due to what happened before. She still had the same smile on her face from before as she had gone back to rolling around on the ground. It definitely wasn't her.

 **"If you refuse to see, then I will make you see"** The voice said again.

In an instant, a bright light flashed in front of my eyes. I instinctively covered them. I felt the atmosphere around me change. My body shivered from a heavy breeze that blew over my skin. However, that cold breeze quickly became warmer. So warm, that it felt like it would burn me.

I eventually opened my eyes, only to wish I had left them closed. The area around me had changed to a courtyard. The girl was nowhere to be seen. In front of me stood a massive building. Flames engulfed the entire structure, and everything around it.

In a panic, I threw my body off the ground, forgetting that my legs had been disabled. I wobbled a bit, trying to get my bearings. I guess they had recovered enough to stand, though I'm pretty sure I was in no condition to do anything besides a slow walk.

I looked back to the burning building in front of me. Was this real? At this point I couldn't tell anymore. It definitely felt real enough, as the heat started to scorch my skin. I backed away from the flames to avoid being burned alive.

I wanted to believe that this was dream. A horrible nightmare of somekind. That way I'd actually have an explanation for what was going on here. I quickly eyed my surroundings. Everything else all seemed to be fairly normal. The darkness had completely dispersed.

My attention was grabbed when I saw a door of the building get busted open. Out walked two men, clad in rogue armor. My eyes grew wide when I saw them. It was almost like I had seen them before. I mean, not them in particular, but those kind of people.

As the men walked out of the burning building, I saw that they dragged along something on the ground. Once I saw what it was, my heart seemed to almost stop.

A little girl with matted blonde hair, and a burned, pink dress.

"RONA, NO!" I yelled.

Right after I said that, I felt a sharp pain in my head. I grabbed my skull, and squeezed it as hard as I could. I could feel memories flowing into my mind. The burning structure, I knew what it was. Those men, I knew who they were. Everything that I had seen today, all of it, I knew.

I screamed as pain filled my body. Not physical, but emotional pain. This...this is what they want me to remember. I forced myself to be rid of these memories long ago. Rona...she was the one that erased them for me. Erased the pain that I felt back then. Erased all the terrible mistakes that I made. I wanted more then anything to forget!

The sound of men yelling, and cheering could be heard around. I hesitantly lifted my head up to see a hundred men all around me. They had their swords lifted high in aspiration towards me.

I watched in agony as the two men dragging the girl threw her body in front of me. The battered princess lay motionless on the ground. Blood stained her ripped clothes. The men started cheering louder, clashing their swords together.

"KILL HER! KILL HER!" they all shouted.

Tears rolled down my eyes. No...this couldn't be real. It had to be a lie. I tried to move my body, but I couldn't. I couldn't move at all. It was like I had been taken control of. This isn't me...THIS IS NOT ME!

The two men that had carried the girl, lifted out a blade in their hands, gesturing for me to take it. I wanted to refuse, I had to, but my body moved on it's own. I pickup up the sword, and lifted it into the air.

"Do it Connor! Put an end to the Carmont family name! Become the leader you were born to be!" One of the men said.

I felt my breath get locked up in my lungs. I wanted to cry out, but I couldn't make a sound. I wanted to take the girl and run away, just like before, but I couldn't. I screamed on the inside as I continued to lift up the sword above the girl.

My body paused for a moment when I saw the child lift up her head slowly. Her beaten and bruised face revealed itself to me. Her eyes met with mine. What I saw in them was what scared me more than anything. Emptiness...true, emptiness showed in her expression. It was the look of someone who had lost everything. The look of someone who had absolutely nothing left to live for anymore. Just like the look she had back then.

No, I couldn't let this happen. Not again. I had to stop...I had to stop...I had to…

"STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!" I screamed.

I felt my body loosen. The area around me began to grow dark, just like before. I let the sword drop from my hands. All of the men around me started vanishing into the void. In an instant, I was once again surrounded by darkness.

My body stood stiff for a while. It wasn't until I looked down and saw the little girl still laying there, that I finally moved. I knelt down next to the child, ignoring the pain in my legs. I lifted her off the ground and laid her on my arms. Her frail and damaged body looked like it would almost break from my hold.

"Rona...Rona, please, can you hear me?" I asked desperately.

I watched as the little girl shuffled around for a bit before finally opening her eyes again. Her gaze met with mine. Even now, she still had the same empty look in her emotions. I forced myself to give her a smile.

"Hey, it's alright now. You're safe." I said.

Rona continued to stare at me with her blank eyes. I wasn't even sure if she was looking at me anymore. The girl lifted up her hands to my face, and placed her palm on my nose. A meek smile gradually took over the child's mouth.

 _"...H...hey...Connor…"_

Within an instant after the girl said that, she vanished into thin air. I was left holding my arm out for no one. I wanted to yell out, to cry out in distress, but I somehow knew that this would happen. I let my arms relax to my side.

 **"There, now that that's all settled, shall we get down to business?"** The same voice from before echoed in my head.

I had had enough. Enough of this world, enough of these lies, I WAS ENDING THIS NOW! I threw my body up in a rage, throwing my fist to the darkened sky.

"I'M DONE WITH YOUR GAMES! What do you really want from me?" I demanded.

The voice started to laugh. I clenched my fist in anger.

 **"What do I really want? Well, that's simple really. I want to finish what you never did back then...I need you...to kill Ronalia Carmont."**

 **Thanks for sticking till the end guys! For everyone that stayed, I want to let you know that I'm going to be making a facebook page for this story. Mainly because I want the people that are really into this fanfic, to be able to keep up to date, and know whether or not I'm still writing and how I'm doing on the story. As well as start doing some artwork for it. I know I won't get much, if any, at the start, but I just feel like "Why the heck not!" Can't hurt, right?**

Clockwork-Heart-459852401022644/


	6. The Clocktower

**This chapter, though fun, was also really difficult to write. There's a reason why I switched to making manga, cause I've never been good with describing things with words...but I did my best with this chapter! As well, due to the massive lack of feedback on chpt 5, you guys made it plain and simple that you wanted more Orianna in this fanfic. So I've decided to change switching between characters every chapter. Instead, I'm going to do 2 Chapters focusing around Orianna and Mykale, for every 1 Chapter focusing around either Rona or Mykale. So yes, the next chapter is going to be the continuation of this story. I've got alot planned for this, so just know that not everything in this place is what it seems. :D...too much spoiler?...ok, i'll stop.**

 **Chapter 6: The Clocktower (Part 1)**

I felt my body falling through the air. My eyes were closed, so I couldn't see what was happening. I wanted to open them, but it was like I wasn't in control of my own body. The cold wind hit my skin like water, but I didn't shiver. Nothing I tried to do worked. Was I paralyzed or something?

Before long, I started to slow in my decent. I became much lighter. My body began to move on it's own, moving my feet under me. I felt dirt and grass touch the bottom of my bare feet.

My eyes finally opened. I was met with the image of a grassy plain as far and wide as the eyes could see. The tall grass swayed beautifully in the wind. I knew for a fact that where I was, wasn't real. I had always been good at figuring out I was dreaming while I was still in the dream. The surreal feeling always gave it away for me.

Within moments, I saw an image in the distance. Then, I saw two images. When they came into view, I saw that it was the image of a boy and a little girl. The boy was definitely older than the girl. The two of them danced around in the grass, holding each other's hands and laughing.

My eyes grew wide as I instantly recognized the two of them. I felt my stomach begin to churn. I couldn't smile for the two of them. I would of loved nothing more than to look away at that moment, but I was still not in control of myself.

"...Jenny…" I said under baited breath.

I watched as the little girl started to slow down. She looked to be in pain, as she grabbed her chest. She started coughing heavily, so much so that she coughed up blood. I watched in shame as the young boy just stood there...unsure of what to do. He wanted to help, but he didn't know how.

I wanted to cry out to him to do something, ANYTHING, but no sound came from my voice. I wanted to run over to her, and help her myself, but my body refused.

I watched as the girl fell to the ground, slowly dying. All while the boy still just stood there, too panicked to do anything. All he could do was shout the girls name...over...and over...and over.

I tried with everything I had to move. I strained and pulled at my muscles, but they just wouldn't respond. I gritted my teeth so hard, I thought I would break them. In the back of my mind, I think I knew it was pointless.

I watched as the world around me began to slowly fade away. The grass blew away into the darkness. In a moment, all that was left In front of me was the little girl, laying on the ground motionless. My heart sank along with the rest of this world. I was helpless to do anything. All I could do was stand and watch.

"...no...NO...STOP IT! STOP IIIIIIIIIIITTT!" I screamed as I was finally able to close my eyes again.

I threw my body up, screaming at the top of my lungs. I could tell right away that I was somewhere else as I felt the hard platform under me. I also knew that I wasn't laying down just a second ago. I let my hands feel around me, attempting to identify where I was.

I felt a warm blanket over my legs, as well as over the platform I was on. If this was a bed, then I could only imagine who slept here. I gradually started to open my eyes. A bright light instantly beamed through the crack in my eyelids, causing me to squint. I covered my face with my hand, letting my vision adjust. It didn't take too long before I was able to fully open them and see where I was.

My mouth dropped as all around me I saw gadgets. Mechanical parts, strewn all about the room I was in. A large machine laid in the corner. It looked like a kind of furnace. In the middle of the room was a workbench. I could tell it had been used several times, and recently too. Corks, screws, bolts, scraps of metal, all laid unorganized on it. Whoever worked in here definitely didn't know how to pick up after themselves.

I looked down at where I was laying. I wasn't exactly sure what It was I was sitting on besides just a regular metal platform, but I knew for a fact that it wasn't comfortable. Aside from that, the only thing else in the room was just a few shelves, some tool chests, a large metal door, and other various things. Only one window was in the room, but that was enough to let the sun brighten up the entire place.

I threw the covers off myself, and swung my legs around to the floor, completely forgetting about the little charade that happened recently. I quickly grabbed my chest as it started surging with pain. I looked down at my body, just now realizing that I was shirtless, and having even more bandages wrapped around me then what I had before I got slashed.

"Nghh, I got cut up pretty badly, didn't I?" I said to myself.

Did Orianna patch me up? If so, then this was some pretty impressive work from a robot. I mean, it was alot better than what Rona did, that's for sure. I touched the spot where the blades had cut, causing me to flinch from the pain. The wound was still tender, so I haven't been out for long. Maybe a day at the most. Honestly though, the main question that thrived in my mind after all that happened in the past couple days, was why the heck I was still alive.

I threw my head up, looking around the room, for some reason thinking that I might see the mechanical girl. I don't know what I expected to see, having already done an analysis on the area just minutes ago. However, to my surprise, the door to the room started to slowly creak open. I jumped from the sound at first, but quickly adjusted myself.

I watched the door, expecting a Robot Lady to walk through, but no one came. I sat there for a bit, confused. There wasn't ghosts here were there? I really didn't want there to be ghosts here. That was the last thing I needed right now.

I felt something tug on my pant leg. An instant shiver went down my spine. I looked to the ground next to my foot. A tiny little robot sat there, looking at me, still clinging to my leg. It looked like some kind of monkey with wheels, but I honestly had no idea what it was supposed to be. The thing whirred it's gears at me.

"Um...hello there." I said.

The little machines head extended itself out of the body, raising up to eye level with me. Glowing blue eyes scanned me from head to toe. I inadvertently covered my bandaged chest. After about a minute of being scanned, the mini robots head quickly lowered back into it's body.

The thing gave a buzz, letting it's tiny chomper arm's clamp down a few times. Whether or not that was a sign of approval, I had no idea. Without hesitation the monkey bot started moving towards the door. I watched, unsure of what to do. After the thing stopped and turned back around to look at me, I realized that he wanted me to follow him.

"Uh...ok." I said as I got up off of the bed.

I staggered a bit when the blood started rushing to my head. I definitely stood up way too fast. I got my composure before proceeding to follow the little robot out of the room. I was hoping I would find some kind of shirt along the way. Wasn't too keen on walking around an unknown place with nothing but bandages covering my chest.

I followed the little machine out of the room. I hadn't really anticipated what would be outside yet, but I prefered the surprise. It's a good thing that I didn't get my hopes up though, cause all that the room led to was a long, dark hallway.

"Hm, this is typical" I remarked.

The little monkey bot continued down the hallway, and I followed after him. He moved surprisingly fast for his size. I was really curious who actually made him. Did some crazy inventor live here or something? Maybe...maybe whoever it is, made Orianna too.

The hallway began to get larger and larger. We had yet to pass any other rooms along the way, so I was really curious where this thing led to. Not a moment after I said that, a large metal door shone at the end of the hall. At both sides of it sat statues of knights. Were we in some kind of castle? From what I had seen so far, those looked really out of place.

The little robot proceeded to roll up to the door. I stopped, expecting him to open it. However, instead of doing that, he opened a tiny door that laid hidden pretty well inside the actual door. I watched dumbfounded as the mini bot left me without a word

"Uhhh...what...the heck." I said.

I waited in awkward silence. I jumped a bit as I heard gears and cogs begin to start up. Dust began falling off the door. I could tell it hadn't been used much. With a creak, the door cracked open. I waited, expecting it to open all the way, but it stopped right at a slight crack. The gears and cogs slowly came to a stop. I stood there for a while, hesitant to do anything.

"Well, this is disconcerting." I remarked again.

I slowly reached for the handle. My fingers tingled as the cold sensation of the metal touched my skin. It caused my body to shiver. With a heavy grunt, I pulled on the door as hard as I could. Turns out, it was a lot lighter than I thought. The door flung open so fast, that I lost grip of it, and it smashed against the wall, just missing the statue.

"Oh, uh...hehe, oops." I said, scratching the back of my hair.

As soon as I caught glimpse of what was on the other side of the door, my attention was completely redirected. My eyes grew wide as I stepped through into the massive room in front of me.

Tall pillars of metal and clockwork lined the corridor. The floor was made of a sleek stone slab. The bright light shone from the beautifully crafted glass ceiling. All along the walls hung hundreds of random machines. If I even attempted to describe all of them, we'd be here all day. Every single one of them were so different. All around me even more machines stood. Some were even moving around.

Alot of the machines reminded me of animals. I saw some that looked like deer, bears, dogs, various birds. All of them seemed to contain some semblance of an animal. Others looked to be a mix of several different animals. Then there were a few here and there that didn't look like anything at all. They were just giant blobs of parts that somehow managed to move around.

"HO-LY CRAP! This is...this is amazing!" I exclaimed with excitement.

I was in such awe of everything around me, I almost didn't notice the familiar little monkey robot roll up to me. He whirred his gears again, motioning for me to keep following him. I was very hesitant, I mean, can you blame me? Who would want to leave a room as amazing as this!?

I nodded my head as I began following the tiny machine again, still taking in everything. A few of the robots seemed to be communicating with each other. I couldn't even begin to understand what they were saying. Did robot's really have a language of their own? Because if so, THAN THAT'S FREAKIN AWESOME!

A few of the other robots seemed to take notice of me. Some of them looked at me with a curious expression. Other looked at me as if they wanted to gouge my eyes out. Then there were the ones that acted like I didn't exist. Either way, I attracted quite alot of attention.

"I've never seen so many robot's in one place before. I can only imagine who made them all. They're all so different too." I said.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye, one of the robotic birds was soaring right at me. I managed to duck just in time as the thing flew over my head. It landed on a small handle that jutted out of one of the pillars. The machine cawed with a metallic tone to its voice. I didn't even care that my life may have been in danger there, that was just TOO COOL!

"Man, I could get used to a place like this." I remarked.

I continued to follow the little monkey bot until we got to another metal door on the other side of the room. I watched, expecting it to do the same thing it did before. I was ready for it this time.

Instead, the little robot rolled up to a tiny panel on the bottom end of the door. With gears turning, a chord came out of it's front end, and plugged into the socket under the panel. Im guessing a panel just like this must be on the other door too. Both of them were probably on the inside.

Within seconds, the door began to whir and churn. It cracked open a slight bit, just like the last one. I looked down to the mini machine. He motioned me to open the door. Didn't have to tell me twice, after what I've seen so far, I couldn't wait to see what was on the other side of this door!

With a heave, I opened it up, almost forgetting how light the thing actually was. I was able to notice in time before the handle slipped out of my hand. I breathed a sigh of relief. If the door had slipped, I don't wanna think about how all the robots in here would of reacted!

I let my eyes fall upon the dark room in front of me. I squinted, but I couldn't make out what was inside. I looked back down at the little robot, but he had already gone in. I quickly followed after him. Thanks to the light from the open door, I was able to see the mini machine for a bit, but after I took a few steps in, the door closed itself.

I threw myself around to try and catch the closing door, but I couldn't. I was left in darkness, and I had no idea where that little monkey butt had went. I was only a little panicked, i mean, not like I was scared of the dark or anything…

"Alright buddy, not cool!" I said nervously.

I started feeling the walls around the door in hopes of finding some sort of light switch. All I was feeling was the weird texture of moldy wallpaper. I grabbed onto the handle of the door, and pulled it as hard as I could, but the thing wouldn't budge.

"Well, this is just great!" I complained.

I turned back around in the pitch black room, and tried to make heads or tails of where I was. I knew for a fact that the path was clear in front of me, so I decided to just walk forward until I smacked into something. Not the best strategy, but It was a start.

The room was strangely quiet. I couldn't hear that mangy little robot anymore. I would of thought that this place was super big, but I couldn't even hear the echo of my own footsteps. Maybe there was a bunch of different rooms around me or something.

"Hey, uh...Mr. Robot...dude...you there?" I asked.

I figured that it wouldn't hurt to try and call out the little guy directly. Actually, I should of really tried that earlier. I waited for a bit for a response, and eventually I got it. I heard the whir of little gears turning. I threw my head towards the direction of the sound.

"Hey, is that you?" I asked again.

I instinctively started walking towards the sound, only to run straight into what felt like a table. It's not like I was sprinting though, so it didn't hurt too bad. What kind of room was this exactly? Wait...this couldn't be like...a dungeon of some sort, could it? Was I being locked away in here?

Soon after those thoughts entered my head, I was nearly blinded by a bright light that lit up in the center of the room. I had to cover my eyes to avoid going blind. I barely managed to get a glimpse of anything before I did.

I gradually let my eyes adjust to the light. The room around me began to take shape. The kinda room it was though, I couldn't even begin to guess. The best way I could think of to describe it was that it looked similar to the room I was in when I woke up, just with ALOT more mechanical parts strewn about. If there was ever a room that would be considered a workshop, I'd definitely say this was it.

All around the table and on the floor laid robot parts. Bodies, limbs, heads, and other various pieces that I could only guess what they were. It was a little disconcerting, but kinda fascinating at the same time.

Around the rest of the room I saw about 3 workbenches, the other 2 having tools strewn about them instead of parts. On one side of the room sat a huge furnace. Kinda like what you might see in a blacksmith's shop. I'm assuming whoever worked here must of created some of these parts from scratch. That, or repaired them.

The thing that caught my interest first though was the large metal box in the back of the room. It sat right up next to the wall. It looked so out of place. Intricate designs lined the exterior. I wondered who would go through the time of decorating such a regular box. Unless it was just a huge metal slab...then that'd be even stranger.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little monkey robot move out from behind the metal box. I wanted to scream out "THERE YOU ARE!" but I was more curious about what he was doing back there.

I watched as the mini machine slowly putted it's way around to the front of the block, and parked itself next to what looked like a little keyhole of some sort. My anticipation began to rise as I saw him insert some kind of object into the slot, and turn it.

Nothing happened at first, but after a few seconds, I heard the sound of gears beginning to turn once again. The box began to open, piece by piece. It was like watching art come to life. Each layer of metal shifting around each other. I stared in awe at the masterpiece infront of me unfolding.

My eyes grew even wider once I saw what was inside the box. The face of a familiar robot shone through the opening. Her brass hair seemed to glisten from the light once it hit it. As the box continued to open, the full figure of the mechanical girl started to come into form.

Once an oval shaped entrance covered the entire front part of the box, it slowed it's gears, and came to a stop. I heard the sound of something being wound up inside of it. With each click that the object made, the metal ladies body seemed to move up a little at a time.

After what seemed like a million clicks, there was complete silence for a while. It only lasted for about 5 seconds though, as I could hear the robotic girls own parts begin to operate. Her eyes opened, revealing the blue glow from them that I recognized all too well.

"Orianna…" I said.

The woman looked at me for a bit, as if she was trying to identify me. That, or she was still waking up and she wasn't actually looking at me at all, I couldn't tell. The girl stood up slowly onto her feet, and stepped out of the compartment she was in. Her body tilted and swayed, but as soon as her feet touched the ground, she arched her back and stood up straight. Her parts all seeming to lock in place.

"Wow...now THAT'S how you make an entrance!" I said with a dorky smile.

Orianna continued to stare at me with a blank expression. It made me wonder if she still remembered me.

"wHy...arE yOu HeRe?…" She asked.

My face fell flat. After all I went through, THAT'S the first thing she says to me? No, "Hello, how are you?". I mean, that little robot dude led me here in the first place. Actually…

I looked around, trying to find that mangy little machine. I spotted him sitting in the same spot I had seen it last, right next to where the keyhole slot was on that box.

"He was actually the one who brought me here." I said, pointing to him.

Orianna's gaze shifted around to the tiny robot. The thing started whirring it's gears in excitement as soon as she made eye contact with it. The metal lady got down on her knees and beckoned the tiny bot to come to her.

Without hesitation, the little machine responded, rolling it's little wheels as fast as it could to the mechanical girl's side. I watched as the woman gently picked up the thing in her palms. She then proceeded to open up a compartment on it's side.

After she turned around, I saw the wind up tool on her back, slowly ticking along like the hands of a clock. I wonder how I didn't notice it until now. I mean, it's not like I didn't see it before, it just blended in so natural with her look that it didn't stand out to me. I honestly thought it was just for decoration, but with how it was moving now, that was probably wrong. I'm guessing that box she was in kept her body in stasis while the tool was wound down, and the sound I heard must of been the thing being wound back up.

I thought back to what the Bounty Hunter had said to me about what Orianna was. I also know what I said, but I still couldn't stop thinking about it. Was this girl really running entirely on programs? I remember when her tone of voice shifted to something natural. It was almost human how she talked there. Was that all just a program too?

I scratched the back of my head in frustration. I've just been asking question after question ever since I met this machine. I wanted to get some answers, but I really wasn't sure if my questions even needed answers. Maybe I should just accept things for how they are...I mean, I doubt the readers would like that, but still...What?...No, I didn't just break the 4th wall again, shut up!

My thoughts drifted to Rona. I was really curious what had happened to her. I haven't seen her in quite some time. She left with that guy...what was his name again?...Corey? Anyway, I hope she was alright with that Deathmage. I really didn't know much about what they are, but just the name alone sounded bad.

I looked back to the mechanical girl. She seemed to be communicating with the little monkey robot. It was like a mix of sign language and weird noises. If that was a language, then I'd love to meet the guy that came up with it. I couldn't help but smile every time I saw this girl interact with another machine.

My thought once again went back to Rona, but this time it was the moment when I found out about Orianna from that book. Rona told me to stay away from her. I was still so confused by that. I mean, I knew she was strong, that was evident from the fight she had with that Bounty Hunter. However, I didn't really feel threatened around her. Even when she was trying to kill me with that ball, I really didn't feel like she wanted to do it. I saw what she was capable of doing, and she could of killed me instantly if she wanted to...but she didn't.

I then thought back to when the Bounty Hunter actually showed up, how she took out Orianna's ball friend. She looked so worried about the thing. Now, I'm no expert on machines, but I'm pretty sure that wasn't a normal reaction for one. Everytime I think about what she's done so far, the more human she looks to me. Yet, looking at her now, she really does look all machine.

I perked up once I realized something.

"Hey, that's right, where is that ball?" I asked under my breathe.

As soon as I thought that, I started to hear something behind me. It was moving fast. I turned around to see the door still closed. Was it outside the room? I turned back around to look at the mechanical girl, incase she had heard the sound. She was still chatting away with the little bot in that weird language they had.

I flinched when I heard the object smash right into the door. Now Orianna noticed it too, finally. She picked up her head, and eyed the door along with me. I waited a bit. Had one of the machines out there gone rogue? It must be the Platypus, he was eyeing me up for the kill before when I was out there, I swear.

"aPpEAr" The metal lady said.

Suddenly, a large metal object popped up out of thin air, right in front of me. As I took a step back, I almost tripped over my own feet. I looked to see the metal ball I was just talking about, hovering in mid air.

"Alright, well, that just happened." I remarked.

The ball gleefully started spinning around once It saw the robot girl. It flew up to her and started rubbing the side of her cheek like a cat. Orianna sat the little monkey bot down before she wrapped her hands around the thing, and started patting it like before. A smile creased over her metal lips.

I noticed that the damage that Bounty hunter had done to the ball was all repaired. The person that made all of those machines out there must of fixed him up. I was really hoping that I could meet this guy.

I smiled after I heard Orianna laugh a metallic laugh from the robotic balls affection. That kind of emotion from her, I've only seen when she was interacting with that thing. It made me really curious what the story was behind the two. Did that same person running this place make both of them just for each other? Either way, it was still amazing to watch them together.

"Hey, uh...Mr. Ball, it's good to see you all fixed up." I said.

Right as I had said that, the ball instantly stopped what it was doing, and turned to face me. It looked shocked to see me there. The thing whirred it's gears at me. I grimaced nervously. I suddenly remember not being too liked by him. The ball took off towards me, and I instinctively covered my face.

I expected to get my gut pummeled into, but I instead got a nice warm rub on my shoulder. I cautiously lowered my hands, confused to see the ball rubbing up against me, the same way he did to the metal girl. I wasn't sure whether I should feel grateful or uncomfortable.

"Um...ok, wasn't expecting that." I remarked.

I shot the mechanical girl a concerned look. I tried to ask "Is he still trying to kill me?" with my eyes. The woman cocked her head to the side.

"hE...ApPreCiaTEs yOu NoW. I iNfoRmEd HiM aBoUt YOuR UnneceSsARy AcTioNs To pROtEct mE." Orianna said.

I was speechless. I honestly didn't think it even mattered to her what I did. She didn't make it seem like that anyway. It made me happy to know that it atleast meant something to her though, as dumb as it was. I couldn't resist grinning a very dorky grin.

"Really? Well, that's good to hear. Glad my stupidity is good for something, haha." I said with a laugh. The robotic girl didn't seem to get the joke, and continued to cock her head at me confused like. I responded by halting my laugh with an awkward cough.

"But, I'm glad I was able to help you like you helped me. Even if it was pointless" I remarked.

Orianna continued to stare at me with the same blank stare that she had always given me. I know she's a robot, and this is probably obvious, but DANG was she hard to read. I still wanted to ask her why she attacked me back there, but trying to find the right time to ask just seemed to get harder and harder.

"Look...I, uh-"

"MyKaLe." The mechanical girl said, cutting me off.

"...uh...yes?" I asked, concerned.

"DeSpiTe WhAT yOu DiD fOR mE, I aM AfrAiD ThIs iS wHeRe wE mUsT pARt WaYs." The woman said.

My eyes grew wide. The ball had already stopped it's rubbing on me, and had returned to the robotic girls side.

"Wait...what? What are you saying? I asked

Orianna narrowed her glowing eyes at me.

"i'M sAYiNg, YoU mUSt LeaVe...NoW!"

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

 **Thanks for sticking through till the end guys! If you liked this chapter, then please leave a review/follow/favorite, whatever you like. It really helps motivate me to keep writing :D**


	7. Impossible Debt

**It's been a long time...WAY too long. I put off writing this story for a bit because, well...I wasn't sure If I was going to continue it. I usually stop writing a story after I stop getting feedback. Now did I end up getting feedback, and that's why I kept writing? No, I actually didn't. This story is not only the longest stories I've ever written, but also the one I've stuck too for the longest time. I truly love writing this story. That being said, when I finally got back into writing, this Chapter…..took so much trial and error. I changed the plot line of this thing SOOO many times, it's ridiculous. Either way, I'm glad to be back, and I hope you guys aren't too upset that I took so long. Writing is hard for me...but I wanna keep this story going :D**

 **Chapter 7: Impossible Debt**

"Wait...what? You want me to leave?" I asked.

Orianna nodded her head to me.

"yEs. YoU aRe noT WElcOmE hERe." The mechanical girl responded bluntly.

Well, that was rather harsh. It felt like I just got here, and I was already being asked to leave.

"I'm not welcome?... but...why, exactly?" I asked.

The robotic lady tilted her head to the side. I could tell by now that she did that when she was confused. The ball had floated to the other side of the girl's shoulder and was looking back from her to me.

"wHy?...BeCauSe I aM a MaChINe, YoU aRe HUmAn. tHeRE nEeD NoT bE aNY mOrE reAsON tHaN THat." The girl said.

I could feel a slow anger begin to well up inside me. I had already gotten enough of this crap from the Bounty Hunter, I didn't need it from her too. Was machines and humans being separate supposed to be a norm in this world? It didn't make sense to me at all. I mean, human's are the one's that made the machines in the first place, right? I clenched my fist.

"Does that really matter? Why do you have to isolate yourself away?" I asked.

The robotic girl stared at me blankly, per usual, as if she was a statue. Her gaze seemed to pierce through me, analyzing my every being. Meaning that she was trying to figure out if I was joking or not. She lifted her hands up in front of me. I inadvertently took a step back. I quivered as the girl placed her hand on my chest. The cold metal made my bare skin shiver. It wasn't like I was afraid...but...my body seemed to respond otherwise.

"W-what...what are you-"

"I wAs cREatEd FoR oNE pUrpOSe...tO dEstROy. mY bOdy IS a WeaPoN tHaT fEeLS nO EMotIoN. I cAN noT MinGlE wItH HuMAns, BeCauSE I woULd InEVidEnTly **DELETE** tHeM. I aM DAngErOUs, aNd sHOulD bE TreATeD As sUCh." The mechanical girl said.

Once again, the words of the Bounty Hunter just refused to leave my head. I gritted my teeth as I tried to ignore them. I didn't want to accept that this was true. Everything she's done so far. How she saved me from falling to my death, how she helped her partner when it was injured, how she brought me back to her place after I passed out when she could've just left me out there to die. I just couldn't...I refused to accept that all that was mere programming.

Before I was able to say anything, Orianna moved her hand from my chest and grabbed my arm. I watched as she picked up my hand and placed it on her chest (not THAT part of the chest! get your minds out of the gutter!). The cold sensation of her metal frame made my skin tingle. I looked to the girl in surprise, unsure of what she was doing. She didn't respond to me, she just stared at my hand.

"Hey...um..."

"wHAt Do yOu FEeL?" The metal lady asked.

I stood in shock. How exactly was I supposed to respond to a question like that? I looked from my hand, back to the girl, trying to verify that that's what she really asked. She blinked her glowing eyes at my obliviousness. I didn't know what she was expecting, but might as well give it a shot.

I calmed my body, and focused hard on what I could feel with my hand. I could sense the slow rumble of cog's moving. Gears, turned in bursts from all different parts of her inside. Besides that though, there wasn't much else I could feel. I tried to find something that stood out to me, but there was nothing.

"Wait..." I said under my breath.

That was it...nothing stood out to me...something was missing. I focused hard again. What was it that I couldn't feel? Her body was still moving, so It couldn't be something major. I could still feel the oil running through her metal veins, so it wasn't that. The only other thing was...oh...I think i got it. My eyes grew wide in surprise.

"...You...have no Heart..." I said.

Instantly after saying that my attention was grabbed by the sound of an explosion. The whole building shook from it. It took me by surprise, I almost lost my balance.

Even Orianna was taken back by the blast. Her body seemed to jerk after the impact. The ball started flying around the room frantically like a pinball. I grabbed onto a table ledge to try and steady myself.

"What the heck was that?" I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the little monkey robot's body flashing red. He was spinning around in a panic just like the ball was. Orianna bent down and picked up the the little bot. She seemed to be the only one remaining calm in this situation. Actually, was she even capable of panicking?

"Hey, what happened?" I asked the girl.

She didn't pay me any mind as she began to communicate with the little, terrified, robot again. Was he some sort of alarm system or something? His body was still flashing red, so that's all I could think of what it meant.

Thankfully, it didn't take them near as long to get their thoughts out this time. The mechanical girl placed the little monkey robot back down on the floor, and stood up. She turned to look at me with the most stern face I've seen out of her yet.

" **You must leave, NOW!** " Orianna said in a very dark voice. Yet, the robotic tone to it wasn't there. It was like what happened when I first met her. She talked normal for one moment.

"Ok, first off, why are you talking...well, more human now? Secondly, there's no way I can leave now! Not after THAT!" I said, gesturing towards the direction where the explosion came from.

As if on cue, another explosion came down, much closer to us than the last one. The building shook even more this time. Metal and parts crashed all around the room, creating a mess. I covered my face as dust started blowing everywhere.

I saw out of the corner of my eye, Orianna throwing up her hands into the air. A bright yellow aura started to glow from them. I glanced to the side to see the ball begin to glow the same, before spinning around the girl. It moved so fast that all I could see was the glow creating a streaks all around the girl's body. It looked like a kind of barrier.

The ball soon began to slow down, but the streaks of glowing light remained spinning around the girl at insane speed. My body shivered as Orianna opened her eyes to reveal them glowing a bright yellow now, instead of blue. Her body started to slowly lift into the air. The room around her began to shake more and more as the power around her began to grow.

"gRaVIty BrEAk"

In an instant, the field around her shot out from her body, expanding at an immense rate. I winced as the field passed over me. I took a step back instinctively. I blinked a few times before feeling all around myself, making sure I was still all here.

"What was that?" I asked.

Orianna's metallic figure floated back down to the ground. As soon as her feet touched the floor, I heard what sounded like a ping. That's when I really saw what she did. All around the room, everything that wasn't attached to anything gradually began to lift up into the air. I stood in awe at the sight. I didn't even know magic like this was possible.

"Wow...did you, ju-ahhhhHHHHHHH!" I yelled as my own body started to lift up into the air as well. I flailed my arms around frantically trying to bring myself back down, but was failing horribly.

I looked back up at the robotic girl with a very concerned look on my face. Now she was holding two fingers to her mouth. She had her eyes closed and was whispering words that I couldn't make out. I could tell it was another spell after symbols started glowing around the fingers.

"Hey, uh, not to be a bother, but could you tell me why exactly you turned off the gravity? I mean, don't get me wrong, it's SUPER COOL that you can even do that, but I'm gonna need some context here." I asked sarcastically.

Orianna opened her eyes again. They were back to their normal blue, but they still had the sinister look in them. She lifted the 2 fingers from her metal lips and pointed them at me.

"tHiS Is nO MaTTeR YoU NeED to InVOlvE YoURsElf iN." The mechanical lady said.

After saying that, the girl started to walk towards me, her fingers still pointed in my direction. I tried to do a kind of backstroke in the air to back up from her, but I wasn't really getting anywhere. I watched helplessly as her magic imbued fingers got closer to my face.

"Wait, what are you gonna do to me?" I asked.

In a split second, it seemed like the robotic girl teleported to me. Before I knew it, I felt her fingertips on my forehead, and her face only a couple feet from mine. I grimaced in pain from her fingers that felt like burning coal on my skin. I tried to jerk my body and pull away, but I was somehow attached to her fingers.

"iN a FeW mINuTes TImE, yOuR BoDY wiLl bE DiScOnFigUrED aNd REcOnfIGuReD mAnY MiLEs FrOM heRe." The mechanical lady said.

I widened my eyes in surprise. Was she talking about Teleportation magic? I remember reading about that. That type of magic is supposed to be among the most difficult magic to learn. Going as far as a few feet is challenging, even for Archmages, but miles...how is that even possible?

"fURthErMOrE, iF YoU aTTeMpT tO ReTUrN hErE, tHEn I WiLL noT HeSItAte To kILL yOu." Orianna remarked, before moving her fingers from my forehead. It felt like someone was ripping duct tape off my skin. I could still feel whatever mark she left there.

"Urgh, why are you doing this? Can't you see that I'm just trying to help you?" I exclaimed.

I watched as the robot girl started heading for the door. The ball that had remained in the corner of the room ever since the explosions started, got up and rushed over to the girls side. She grabbed the door handle and opened it. The light from the other room shone in bright. I grimaced.

"WAIT, please, just let me-"

" **I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP!"** The mechanical lady yelled, cutting me off. Her voice had changed again, but this time is was shrill and menacing. I could feel the skin down my spine begin to crawl.

Orianna slammed the door behind her, leaving me alone in a room full of floating metal. Well, technically I wasn't alone, the monkey robot should still be in here. I glanced around the room for a second. I had no idea where that little guy had gone off too. Maybe he was floating around here too. Actually, for that matter, how was Orianna NOT floating too?

AHHH, too many questions again, I don't have time for this. I paced back and forth frantically, trying to figure out what to do. I wasn't sure exactly how long the spell had left, but it had to be less than 30 seconds. I scratched my head, and stomped my foot on the ground, trying to come up with any answer I could.

…..wait a second. I looked down at my feet that were now planted firmly on the ground.

"HOLD ON, WHY AM I NOT FLOATING ANYMORE!?" I asked myself.

I looked around the room to see if anything else had stopped floating, but it seemed like everything still was. Why did the spell wear off on me so quick? Is it less powerful on people or something? I jumped up a few times to check, and sure enough, the spell had worn completely off.

I snapped out of my confusion, and remember that I had a ticking time bomb on my head that was going to go off any second now. I started sprinting around the room as fast as I could, looking in drawers, floating pots, anything that might possibly hold something. I really had no idea what I was looking for, but I hoped something would jump out at me when I did.

I soon felt the mark on my head get much hotter. wincing in pain, I reached up and touched my forehead where the spot was. To my surprise, I didn't feel anything there, even though I knew something was.

"Urgh, I'm guessing this means that the spell is starting. DANGET, what do I do!?" I asked myself.

All at once, Orianna's words echoed through my head. 'I never asked for your help.' I let my hand slowly come down to my side. A feeling of defeat washed over me. Maybe she was right. I did kinda just force myself on her problems. I had no right to butt into her life the way I did.

I lifted up my hand. It had already started to go transparent. Small particles broke away from my body, and flew around like tiny fireflies. I would have been in awe more if the situation didn't depress me so much.

There was one thing that I still didn't get though. Why WAS i so gungho about helping Orianna? I really didn't know myself to be honest. I mean, I guess it could be….my thoughts drifted to the image of a little girl that laid dying, with me standing over her not knowing what to do. I gritted my teeth. I could feel tears beginning to well up in my eyes.

Ofcourse that'd be the reason...I'm still trying to repay the impossible debt. I'm constantly forcing myself into people's lives, aren't I? Like I think I have a right to help them, whether they want it or not. When in reality I'm just using them for my own benefit.

I sunk down onto my fading knees. I thought back to everything that me and Orianna had been through so far. It wasn't much, but it was enough to contemplate over things. I smiled when I remembered how happy the mechanical girl was when the ball started snuggling up on her. I grimaced when I remembered how I stepped in front of Orianna to protect her from that Bounty Hunters attack. Knowing just how powerful she is, I have no doubt that all I did was get in the way.

"I guess in the end...she never accepted my help. She just endured my selfishness." I gloomily said to myself.

Then a faint memory started to revive itself in my mind. I guess I did remember a little something before I passed out. I saw the fuzzy image of Orianna kneeling over me. The same look in her eye that she always had. Then I saw her mouth moving...but I don't remember...what did she say?

I rattled my brain, trying to remember. What was it that she told me back there? several different possible answers scrolled themselves through my head. I paced back and forth again, or at least, I hovered. I didn't really have legs anymore, so that wasn't an option.

Since I wasn't looking, I didn't see the floating chunk of metal in front of my face. My head clanged into the object, sending it and me back away from each other. I cringed in pain.

"OW, hey, watch where you're going!" I said both angrily and sarcastically.

I really wanted to massage the spot, but I didn't exactly have hands to do that at the moment. Instead I just rubbed it on my shoulder. wasn't sure how doing this was going to help it, but I just really wanted to rub it for some reason.

"man, thanks for that, I needed another scar to add to the-."

All at once it felt like time stopped as the memory from before cleared itself in my head. Orianna's face lit up in my memory. When her mouth moved, I could finally remember what it was she said.

"Thank...you...she told me, Thank You." I muttered under my breathe.

I stood motionless as my body continued to slowly fade away. The room around me began to grow darker by the second. I wanted to scream, but what would of been the point? Whether or not Orianna really wanted my help, she wouldn't let me no matter how hard I tried. It made me sad, but also more determined than before.

I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth as I could feel the remainder of my body disintegrate itself. The darkening room around me started to slowly replace itself with a magic like nothing I had ever seen before. It was like I was swimming in a witch's cauldron the size of a mansion.

I looked around to try and find myself. I was still in bits and pieces, floating through the magic. I was wondering what part of me was actually looking at this...I mean, it still felt like my body was there, but it was pretty clear that it wasn't.

Soon, the area around me started shifting between various colors. In front of me, a whirlpool in the magic appeared. It started sucking me in right away. I figured it was pointless to try and fight back this time. As cool as it was, I'd rather not get stuck inside this...whatever it was.

My body got pulled faster and faster, until I looked down to see that my body was starting to take shape again. I soon felt my feet touch something soft. I could tell instantly that it was grass. Well, atleast I knew that I was outside, that's a start.

The whirlpool in front of me began to open up. In front of me, I could see a bright light. I covered my eyes with my now functional arms. The magic around me began to fade, as trees and grass started to come into view. I shivered as the cool air touched my bare skin. I don't remember it being this cold before.

Before long, all of the magic had gone, and I was left standing in the middle of a forest. I looked around, trying to see if anything looked familiar to me, but it was hard to distinguish between trees. I had no idea where I was. I wasn't sure if I should just press on until I ran into something. I mean, even if I wanted to, I wouldn't know how to get back to Orianna.

I jumped as I heard the sound of someone coughing behind me. I threw my head around so fast, I thought my neck would snap. I stared in shock as my gaze met with the face of someone I recognized. Her short, black hair waved lightly in the wind as she stared at me with wide eyes. I returned the look back to her.

We just stared at each other for a while, as it seemed both of us were trying to figure out what the heck was going on. Once I opened my mouth, the girl opened hers too.

"IT'S YOU!" We both said in Unison.

"You're the Bounty Hunter from earlier!" I continued.

"And you're the guy that I stabbed!" she added.

Before anyone else could say anything, I saw the black haired girl's gaze shift downwards, causing her to face to instantly switch to one of shock. I shot her back a confused look.

"What? What's wrong?" I asked.

The woman casually pointed her finger downwards, before covering her eyes with her hands. I raised an eyebrow before looking down at myself to see what she was freaking out about. It didn't take me too long to figure out why.

"NAKED!" I screamed before immediately covering my unmentionables with my hands.

"W-W-WHY AM I NAKED!?"

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW!?"?

"MY PANTS, WHERE DID MY PANTS GO? AHHHHHH!"

"Here, put these on please."

"Wait...why do you have a convenient pair of pants and boots on you?"

"Why don't you worry about that AFTER You put them on!"

"Alright alright"

Many awkward moments later…

I tied the knot tight around my waist before walking back out of the bush. It was a pretty nice pair of pants. They felt like they were made out of cotton. The boots were pretty nice too, and they actually fit which was a surprise. She must of had really big feet, because...I mean, It's not like I had small feet or anything...hehe

I cringed as I pulled on the bandages still wrapped around my waist. I placed my hand over the spot that hurt. It started bleeding again...great. That made me wonder though, if my pants got teleported somewhere else then why did the bandages stay? Actually, why did my pants teleport somewhere else in the first place?

I turned my gaze to the Bounty Hunter that was waiting patiently for me. She held out a map in front of her. I watched as she started marking down certain areas of it. She stopped after she noticed me.

"Hey...well, they fit at least." The woman said with a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I was surprised they fit too. I mean, these aren't your clothes, right?" I asked.

The black haired girl snarked a bit before nodding her head.

"Actually, they are. I always keep a spare set of clothes on me. In my line of work, you never know when your stuff's gonna get torn or cut. I've experienced it enough to prepare beforehand." The Bounty Hunter replied.

The woman then proceeded to eye me down a bit. She puckered her lips curiously as if she was trying to figure out my measurements. After a few moments of analyzing, she locked her eyes with mine before letting a mocking smile come over her face.

"Hey, how tall are you?" The black haired lady asked.

I could feel my mouth twitch. I nervously started scratching the back of my head before shifting back and forth on my feet.

"Um...my height?...well, I, um...I'm, uh...6...foot..." I responded, getting the sentence out as slowly as I could. I quivered my lips a bit as I said it.

I watched as the girl's eyes flattened. She gave me a stern look that sent shivers down my spine.

"You are not. I'm 5'8, and were almost the same height." she remarked.

I let my arms fall in defeat in front of me.

"Fine, you got me, I'm 5'9. Happy now?" I said.

The smile returned to the girl's face, along with a quick burst of laughter. I felt my every being sink to nothingness.

"Hey, it's not like I'm short or anything! I'm just under average, that's all!" I exclaimed.

"Hehe, sorry, but I'm pretty sure under average is just a nicer way of saying short." The woman stated with another quick burst of laughs.

I gave a big sigh. The fact that no one else had pointed out my height since I came here, I had almost forgotten the fact that I was short. I mean, I guess Rona was about the same size as me too. It's not like I get bullied alot about it, cause I'm not all that much smaller than most people, but I'm still kinda self-conscious.

I shook my head, trying to forgo the matter. At least the Bounty Hunter had stopped and went back to her map. She had it set down on a tree stump now so she could write on it better. I was pretty curious what she was doing with it, but I was pretty sure I should figure something out first before I ask…

"So...hey, uh...what was your name again?" I asked.

Instant regret shot through me as the girl turned around with a menacing glare on her face. I threw my hands up in defense before taking a couple steps back.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!? YOU FORGOT MY NAME ALREADY!?" The hunter proclaimed.

I waved my arms out in front of me.

"No no, it's not that I forgot, it's just that I didn't care enough to remember, hehe…...eh…...uh, WAIT, THAT DIDN'T COME-"

I was halted by the breeze of a knife flying past my head. It stuck in the tree behind me. I'm pretty sure my heart stopped there for a second.

" Do you wanna die?"

"NOT PARTICULARLY, NO!"

This time the girl gave the big sigh, before she returned back to her map. I slowly lowered my arms back down.

"It's Ember." The girl said.

I waited for a bit before I responded. I was afraid she might chuck another knife at me if I said anything else. After I thought it was safe, I spoke up.

"Alright, Ember. I'll make sure not to forget it this time." I responded with a meek smile.

The bounty hunter seemed to pay me no mind as she was engrossed in her work. From the looks of it, she was trying to find buried treasure. I wanted to look over her shoulder to take a peek at what she was doing, but I decided against it for now.

"So...you're name's Mykale, right?" the woman asked.

That took me by surprise. Now I felt even worse that she was able to remember my name, considering the fact that I never even told her what my names was. I looked at the back of the girl's head confused.

"Um...uh…"

"If you're wondering how I know, it was when I tossed you to the side after cutting you up." Ember said nonchalantly.

I cringed in pain before grabbing the bandages, and pressing them against my skin tight. I don't think my body would let me forget something like that.

"Yeah, I do." I answered.

"Well, after I did that, I heard that clockwork girl call out Mykale. It was faint, but I definitely heard it. I was assuming that that was your name. Turns out, I was right." The woman remarked.

I could feel my stomach begin to churn in knots after I heard that. I remember after being thrown. I thought I heard her say my name, but I assumed that I had just imagined it...did she seriously...but, why? I wanted to be happy, but I couldn't stop thinking about all the other times when she made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with me.

"I must admit, that after I heard that, it made me doubt even my own words. I couldn't figure out how a lifeless machine like her could do something...so human like that." The woman continued.

I clenched my fist. My body started shaking with frustration and anger. I was so tired of questioning myself and my motives. I was tired of constantly wondering if what I was doing was right. I was tired...of asking myself questions that I was afraid to get answers to. There was only one way I was going to get those answers, and if it kills me by trying...then so be it.

"So I'm guessing she was the one that had to do with you popping up in the middle of nowhere, butt naked. What, did you tick her off or something? Hehe, I bet you got kicked out, didn't you?" The girl went on.

"Hey, Ember?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"You've been tracking Orianna for a while, right?" I asked.

I could tell the the woman was surprised by the sudden change in subject. So much so that she actually stopped writing on her map. She turned over and looked at me with a stern look.

"Do you always state the obvious so abruptly like that?" the black haired lady responded.

"I'm guessing that you know where her place is too?" I added in.

I saw the woman's expression slowly change to a cocky smile before she turned her head back around.

"Hmm, so that's what you're getting at." She snarked. "Honestly though, what kind of bounty hunter would I be if I didn't keep marks on my paychecks?"

I gave a big smile.

"So...can you like...show me where it is?" I asked.

"Alright, slow down robo-lover boy, you sure are asking a lot of someone that kills people for a living. I gotta get some compensation for a task like this." Ember said with a chuckle.

"...robo...lover boy..." I muttered under my breathe.

The woman held out her hand, and dropped the ink pen she was holding. It clanked onto the wood of the stump, before rolling off into the grass. The girl stretched her arms behind her, letting out a loud groan as she did. She threw herself up on her feet, looking like she was drunk as she wobbled back and forth.

"Wait, so, what did you wAA-!" I was cut off after something large and heavy crashed into the back of my head. My vision instantly started to go blurry.

I saw Ember turn around in my foggy sight. Her mouth moved, but I couldn't hear what she was saying. My ears were ringing so loud. What I could see is her face turn to a look of terror as she pulled out a bunch knives, but she didn't have a chance to throw them before a dart stuck into her skin.

I saw the girl waver back, saying something that I could only imagine was cursing. She pulled the dart out, but it was too late. She fell to the ground within seconds of being hit. She wreathed her body back and forth for a while. She tried several times to push herself off the ground, but failed everytime. It didn't take long before I collapsed on the ground too. My head hurt so bad.

I could barely make out anything, but I was able to see the 3 pairs of legs walk out and surround Ember. They picked her up off the ground, and began tying rope around her. She struggled and squirmed, but whatever was in that dart was keeping her plenty sedated.

I gritted my teeth as I tried to push myself off the ground, but everytime I tried I just flopped back down, opening my already existing wounds even more. I saw one of the pair of legs turn around and start walking towards me. I tried to move, but my body seemed to go in all sorts of different directions. Once the legs got next to me, they bent down. I heard the cackle of a menacing laugh that sent chills down my spine.

"Still conscious? Ha, you're a tough one, I'll give you that." The voice of the man said. He was close enough to where I could barely make him out.

I turned my head up to try and get a look at his face. Instead, I was met with a much less pleasant sight. A fist that was coming at me really quick. I don't remember anything after that...that's been happening to me alot lately...

 **First off, I got to say the usual by thanking you for reading this Chapter! Secondly, I would like to ask for your guys opinion on something. I'm planning on going back to Rona's story next chapter, but I know some people won't like that. That being said, another option of what I could do is finish the segment with Mykale and Ori, up to when they meet up with Rona and Connor again, and THEN tell Rona and Connor's story in full. But I'll only do that if people want that, so you gotta tell me. Thanks again for reading! Here's the link to the facebook fanpage incase you're interested. (Put the text after /)**

Clockwork-Heart-459852401022644/


	8. What Is Real?

**So I'm sorry to say that I've had to put this story on the backburner. Hence why it took me so long to get this done. I've prioritized working on my manga projects over this (oh, have I said that I'm a manga artist too?). I'm afraid that writing this story is something I'm going to do on the side. I don't know when I'll be able to get more chapters out, but I really don't want to quit writing this story like I have for all my other stories. This one is too special to me as an avid Orianna fan. Hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 8: What Is Real?**

* * *

(Read from Rona's POV)

Every muscle in my body seemed to shake. I felt a tear roll down my face as I reached my hand out to the man infront of me. His body, mangled beyond recognition. It was difficult to catch my breath. My emotions started to get the better of me.

"*sniff*...Connor...why...what happened…" I said through sobs.

The man continued to slowly limp towards me. I stumbled to my feet. My body was so weak, that it was difficult to even stay standing. I started to walk towards the mangled soldier as well. I had to help him...I had to save him...somehow.

I felt my body begin to burn. Magic began to churn inside of me. All my nerves seemed to tingle all at once. I knew it was happening again, but I couldn't seem to stop myself. My emotions just kept growing stronger and stronger.

The blonde haired man from before stepped out of the shadows. He looked at me with a manically joyous smile.

"YES! That's the emotion I wanted to see!" He said with a cackle. "Can you feel it? That immense power, welling up inside of you? You can save all those People, the women and children. You can even save Connor! Just let that power overtake you, and you can do unimaginable things!" The man said.

Images began to show themselves in my head. The image of this city, engulfed in flames. The bodies of people lined the streets. The only sound that could be heard was the screams. Over and over this image played itself through my mind...even though I knew none of it was real.

I was able to snap myself out my delusions slightly. Gritting my teeth so hard that I could feel blood start to fill my mouth. Everything I saw are only things that COULD happen. I let my mind ease up while wiping the tears from my eyes. The picture of Connor's mangled body started to slowly fade away. My mind seemed to finally regain control of itself.

"No...I will not become like you…." I replied.

I saw the man begin to burn with rage. His entire body became surrounded by dark energy that appeared to take the shape of a demon.

"YOU FOOL! WHY DO YOU DENY YOUR DESTINY!? YOU CANNOT STOP THIS!" The man screamed.

I breathed in deep. It would do no good to cry now. I let my heart calm itself before I reached for my wand. It was about time that I broke this spell I was in for good. I began to twist and turn my body, moving the wand around with me. All around, the wand made streaks in the air. The streaks began to form together to make a vine made of magic that flowed over me.

After the vines had wrapped around me a few times, I threw the wand up into the air. I could hear the sound of the world shaking. The magic vines began to spin around me, faster and faster. I clenched my fists as I could feel the immense magical pressure begin to well up in my body once again. I gritted my teeth again before saying the chant.

 _"From Darkness to Dusk, let the morning ignite. To break the chains of matter and fright. Burn the shadows, and open thine mind. Show me the truth that's buried inside."_

In an instant, the magic that had surrounded me shot out like an explosion. I could see the world that I had been in begin to crack. A bright light shone through the seams. The images that surrounded me began to swirl in like a whirlpool, mixing themselves together. In the shadows I could see the figure of the man cloaked in darkness. Enraged, he let out a loud scream that almost deafened me.

"DAMN YOU! YOU DARE TO DEFY YOUR DESTINY!? I WILL HAVE THIS ENTIRE VILLAGE UP IN FLAMES FOR YOUR IGNORANCE!" The man said with a booming voice.

I grimaced as I forced out one more pulse of magical pressure. The man coated in darkness vanished into thin air. I could see the cracks in the world begin to grow even larger. The light that shone through continued to get brighter.

I would of been able to finish it with one more strong pulse, if it wasn't for what happened next. An instant burning sensation coursed through my left arm. Every nerve felt like it was getting pulled by a thousand horses. I shrieked in pain as I grabbed the arm with my other one.

"ngh...no...not now...I was so close." I said in a strained voice.

I could feel the magic of the world begin to collapse in on me. If I didn't do something soon, this unstable world would surely consume me along with it. I took my wand in the other hand. I knew how dangerous it was to switch the flow of magic, but I had no other choice. In a burst of energy, using everything I had left, I threw out one more gust of magical pressure.

I watched as the cracks from this world finally began to shatter. Light from the outside world shone in. I closed my eyes as my body was swept up in a tornado of mist. I was throwin about, left and right, but it didn't take too long before my backside was met with the cold sensation of polished granite.

I laid there for a bit, letting the magic that surrounded me die down. I eventually opened my eyes to a familiar sight. all around me stood tall pillars that lined an empty hall. All along the walls stood statues of soldiers and dukes. A long blue carpet laid through the center of the corridor.

I let a meek smile coarse my lips. It wasn't much, but this was definitely the place that I remembered. It hadn't changed afterall. In my sheer joy, I tried to throw my body up, but was instead thrown back down on my face. I underestimated just how exhausted I was. I decided to try again, a bit more slowly this time.

With a grunt, I forced myself back onto my feet. I had to grasp my arm as soon as I was up. The burning sensation had died down, but the pain was still there. I tried to move it, but it seemed like my muscles were numb all the way up to my shoulder.

"Nghh, I was afraid this would happen...It's gotten so much worse." I remarked.

After situating myself, I started to walk slowly towards the door. The place was completely empty. I would've questioned where the guards were, but after what I experienced, I was afraid to ask anymore questions.

I was about to start walking towards the entrance, before I realized something. I clasped my right hand together, expecting something to be there, but nothing was. I felt a knot form in my gut.

"MY WAND! WHERE'D IT GO!?" I yelled.

I frantically started searching around the area where I was. There weren't many places for the thing to fall or roll under as this room was...as I said, pretty empty. I felt around the floor. It was almost too dark to see much of anything.

"where where where where WHERE IS IT!?" I said in a panic.

Before long, I smacked my head on something as I was searching the ground. I fell back on my rear, rubbing the top of my skull. I didn't have time to exclaim anything aside from 'ow' before I saw the thing that I had hit start to collapse down onto me. I rolled to the side as fast as I could, just getting out of the way of a large suit of armour that crashed to pieces right beside me. It made such a loud noise, that I knew anyone in the castle would've been able to hear it.

I rubbed my left arm again after that little bit of adrenaline had left my body. Rolling like that all of a sudden, definitely didn't feel good on it. I got back onto my feet, and picked up one of the pieces from the armour suit. It was so heavy. I was sure it would have crushed me to death if it had landed on me.

"Hello, is anyone there?" A woman's voice echoed from behind me.

I jumped a little bit from surprise. I honestly didn't think there'd be anyone still here. I threw my head around, and looked in the direction of the voice. I noticed a light glow from the inside of an entrance. At first, all I could see was the light and the outline of a person. I laid the piece of plate armour that I had picked up, back onto the mess of other armour pieces.

"Uh...H-hello?" I asked hesitantly.

The woman slowly started to come into view more through the large doorway. I saw that she had very fancy curly blonde hair that had been pulled up into a bun. As she lightly jogged towards me, she held up the hem of her overly expensive looking dress. I wanted to gag when i saw her, but i resisted the urge. One things for sure, she must live in this castle if that was the attire she had.

"Um, excuse me miss, but may i ask what you're doing here?" The woman asked as her pace began to slow down when she got close to me. I could now see the woman in much greater detail, making me only want to gag more. The amount of makeup she had on could've bought a new house for myself.

"I am Ronalia Carmont, I was called here to deal with the Deathmage that is attacking this city." After saying that, I realized just how quiet everything was around me. You'd think if there was a massacre going on, there'd be alot more noise. It's not like these stone walls are soundproof.

The lady looked at me with a look of confusion, along with a creepy smile across her face to boot. She moved her head from side to side occasionally, as if she was trying to shake the answer out of her mouth.

Actually, now that i think about it, this woman is way too calm for what's going on now. I mean, i guess i shouldn't rule out the possibility that the Deathmage still has me under his spell, but still...either way, the look she was giving me was starting to creep me out.

"What do you mean? There is _nothing_ wrong here. I think you are mistaken." The woman said in a shrill voice.

I stood in shock for a little while after hearing that. "There's...nothing wrong?...but...how can that be? I was summoned by the king himself!" I exclaimed in a frustrated tone.

The woman started to softly cackle under her breathe. She didn't say a word in response to me, she just staggered there, looking at me with those bloodshot eyes...the eyes of one who has been possessed. No, there was definitely something wrong.

I took off in a run towards the entrance where the woman had come from. I was still weak, so I couldn't move all that fast. I didn't look behind me at the woman. I was afraid of what I might see. I wasn't sure what was wrong with her, but I could definitely tell she wasn't normal. I didn't want to stick around to find out why.

As i got through the entrance, I was immediately halted by a putrid smell that was dispersed through the air. It smelled like burning flesh. Terrible thoughts started to wander through my brain as I imagined what those smells were coming from. I wanted to gag, but I was thankfully able to hold it in.

I looked around the hallway that I was in. A strange fog covered the air. At first I thought it was smoke due to the smell, but it felt more like steam. It made it hard to see anything, so I just decided to keep moving forward.

With my hand clenched over my face, I quickly began to make my way down the hall. Taking note of my surroundings as much as i could. I didn't want to run into something cause I couldn't see it in time. However, that didn't stop something from running into me.

Out of the mist I saw a large, gangly figure. It freaked me out so much, that I almost tripped on my own feet when I tried to stop. I wasn't given time to think as the figure let out a blood curdling howl before leaping at me.

I instinctively dropped to the floor as fast as I could, just barely getting out of the reach of the creature. I heard it tumble around a bit behind me. I immediately grabbed for my wand, forgetting that I had lost it. I cursed under my breath.

I hurriedly wobbled back onto my feet. I turned to look at where the creature had fallen. I could see his faint figure through the mist, slowly getting back up. He let out another roar that made my knees quiver. I tried to think of a spell that I could use, or just anything that i didn't need a wand for. The only thing that came to mind was healing magic, but that wasn't going to be very useful here.

I didn't have time to think about anything before the creature charged at me again. I immediately took off in the opposite direction. All around me was covered in the same mist. I couldn't see anything at all. I really hoped that this hallway went on for a while. If it even was a hallway for that matter.

I glanced behind me for a second. I was surprised to see the monster getting further away. I was expecting him to be a lot faster than that. I didn't want to assume that was the case though. I was going to keep up the pace until I lost him completely. At least, that's what the plan was until I slammed into something heavy and metal.

I let out a puff of air as the impact had winded me. I would've fallen back too if a pair of arms didn't pull me back in. I almost instantly realized that the object I had slammed into was a man. Both emotions of relief and terror filled my mind at the exact same time.

"Hey, slow down, you're gonna hurt yourself running like that." A familiar man's voice said.

I threw my head up as fast as I could to meet the man's eyes. The dark green from them seemed to almost glow in the mist. His black hair and beard were just as messy as gave a quirky smile, revealing his slightly crooked teeth. He smelled awful too, like he had just jumped into a swamp...I didn't mind though. I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes.

"C...Connor...is...is it really you?" I said through sobs.

The man gave a slight nod before placing his hand on my head. He started to pet me like he always did when he saw me cry. I never liked when he would baby me like this, but in this situation, I wasn't about to push him away.

"Hey now, you look like you just saw a ghost." Connor said with a chuckle.

In a burst of tears, I wrapped my arms around the man. Barely being able to reach around his waist. I buried my head in his armour, letting the tears flow down the metal.

"I...i thought...I thought I'd lost you...I thought you...you we're dead." I said, barely being able to control my emotions.

I felt as the soldier placed his hands on my shoulder, gently pushing me off him. I looked up at him to see him kneel down in front of me. He had a stern look in his eyes.

"Hey, I don't want to hear you talking like that. So long as you're around, I will never stop protecting you. Don't you remember me telling you that?" He retorted. "Lord knows you need it."

I sniffed a few times before finally wiping the tears off of my face. I let a smile color my expression.

"Yeah...thank you." I replied.

Just then, I heard a loud roar echo all around me. I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of it. It caused the entire area to shake. I would've lost my balance, but Connor managed to catch me in time. The roar was different from last time. Whatever it was, it wasn't the same creature as before.

"CMON, WE NEED TO GO!" Connor yelled, grabbing my hand.

I didn't hesitate to follow Connor as he took off down the hall. I knew he was much faster than me, even with his armour on, but he slowed down his pace for my sake.

The area around continued to shake, even after the roar had stopped. Dust flew everywhere, blocking the view even more. I had to cover my mouth to avoid breathing any of it in. Thankfully, it seemed like Connor knew the area. He managed to catch every twist and turn we came across.

My foot eventually managed to catch on something that jutted out of the ground. Before I knew what happened, my body smacked onto the floor. My breathing seemed to stop for a second from the wind being knocked out of me again. I felt Connor's hand slip from mine. I looked up to see where he was, but he was nowhere in sight.

My eyes grew wide, as a sudden realization hit me. What if...that wasn't actually Connor? Was that another thing that that mage conjured up? Why would he even be here in the first place? Were just a few of the thoughts that rushed through my head at that time. I wanted to cry out, but I was to winded to get it out.

A sudden surge of terror shot through me as I heard the sound of another creature behind me. I threw my head around to look through the shadows. In the mist I saw the figure of something I couldn't even begin to describe. The monsters body seemed to fill the entire hall. Arms the size of pillars. A body the size of a troll.

I instinctively tried to force myself back onto my feet, but was met with a sharp pain in my foot. I fell back onto the ground. I looked down at my ankle to see it bright red and swollen. It was definitely sprang.

I initially started to drag myself away. The sounds of the beasts footsteps caused the entire area to shake again. I was too afraid to look back. I had hoped that this was something else from my illusions. For that matter, maybe none of this was actually real? This could be just some horrible nightmare again. That was what I wanted to believe anyway.

I stopped moving, hearing the footsteps once again begin to get closer to me. I gradually sat myself up straight. I breathed in a big breathe before calmly turning around. I looked up at the giant creature that towered over me. The mist still covering his overall appearance, only leaving his basic outline.

I took a big gulp after the beast took his final step. I slowly lifted my head to try and see his. It was like I was looking at a statue. Sweat poured down my forehead. I wanted to cry, but I didn't have the energy to. I clenched my fist, trying to calm myself...I decided to believe that none of this was real.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?" I screamed as loud as I could. The sound echoed throughout the hallway, seeming to go on forever. I waited as the sound began to die down. After a while, the area grew quiet. The creature infront of me seemed even more like a statue now.

"Please...help me." Came a voice.

In an instant, the mist that surrounded the giant, seemed to blow away. The picture of the monster came into my full view. My eyes grew wide with shock. All around the beast's body jutted out bones. His skin seemed to have been ripped off and sewn back on multiple times. His upper torso was greatly larger than his lower body. His face, was the only part of him that was still normal...it was the face of a man. A regular man. I stared in disbelief not from the things appearance, but from what I knew it was.

"You...you're...a Fallyore." I said under my breath.

Just as I had said that, I saw a sword come flying from behind me. It stuck into the creature's chest, knocking him back a ways. He let out a shriek so loud that I had to cover my ears. I felt arms begin to wrap under me and lift me up. I fidgeted a little, but stopped as soon as I looked up at the person's face.

"CONNOR!" I screamed.

The man gave me guilty smile.

"Sorry it took me so long. To be honest, it's kinda hard to feel things with these gauntlets on. I didn't even notice for a while that I wasn't holding your hand anymore, hehe." The soldier said with a meek chuckle.

I really didn't want to be overdramatic, especially at a time like this, but I couldn't help but let a few more tears drop again. I pounded on the man's chest armour angrily.

"*sniff*...dammit Connor...i thought...i thought you were just another one of my illusions again. I thought...you weren't real." I responded with a slight shudder in my voice.

"Yeah...I know. I don't blame you for feeling that way. To be honest, I'm not even sure if I'm really here myself." The man added.

"Wait...what do you mean?" The woman asked.

Connor looked around a little bit, seeming to not want to make eye contact with me. He eventually shot me a quirky grin before placing me back down on the ground. I hobbled a little bit, grasping onto a jut in the wall. I tried to put pressure on my sprained leg, but quickly picked it back up again after a sharp pain shot through my body.

"Sorry, but...I think I should try and take care of this guy first before we continue chatting. Do you mind?" Connor said with a smirk.

I looked at him for a while with a concerned look. I turned to look at the creature. He swayed back at forth, pulling at the blade stuck in his chest. The words it said kept ringing themselves through my head…"please, help me"...did that beast actually say that? I wasn't sure what was real anymore. But one thing I knew for sure…

"Hey...you know what that thing is, right?" I asked.

"Yeah," Connor said with a nod, "I have no idea what it's doing here though."

"Well...do you think you can beat it?"

"Hm...dunno. Guess we'll have to find out."

With a scream, the monster yanked the blade out of it's chest, and sent it hurling back at us. Connor grabbed at the weapon, wrapping his fingers around the handle while it was still in mid air. With a hurl he swung the thing downward, whipping the blood off the metal. I couldn't help but smile at just how cool he looked right there, but I quickly shook that feeling off after I had just realized something very troubling.

"WAIT, this doesn't make me the damsel in distress, does it?"

The soldier tripped a little bit on his feet.

"SERIOUSLY, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT!?"

"uh...I mean...do your best?"

Both me and Connor flinched as a large object came flying in between us, crashing on the wall behind. I watched as Connor lifted up his sword and charged at the beast. The thing didn't give him much time to react before its large hand wrapped around the soldier's body, and threw him to the side. It was so fast, I almost missed what happened.

"CONNOR, NO!" I yelled!

He slowly get back up on his feet, using his sword to support him. His armour got dented from the impact. I can only imagine how much strength that monster had. I could feel my body shake. I wanted to help, but what could I do...WAIT, THAT'S RIGHT!

I closed my eyes and began swirling my hands around, in front of me. I could feel the magic begin to well up inside me before I sent the power to my hands. In an instant, strands of water began to shoot out of my hands in various directions, eventually wrapping around Connor's body.

I saw him surprisingly glance at the magic that had just surrounded him. He looked up at me with a look of pure amazement.

"Wait, I thought you lost your wand, how are you doing magic?"

"Hehe, I've practiced how to do healing magic without it. It's not much, but at least it's something."

"Hmph well, it's good enough for me." Connor said as he threw his body back up.

The beast roared even louder, angrily swatting at the strands of the magic in the air. As soon as the thing's large hands made contact with the water, all of the magic that was in it faded, and the water came splashing down onto the ground. I was taken back after the flow had been cut so abruptly. I staggered a little bit, but was able to hold myself upright.

"HEY UGLY, DON'T LOSE FOCUS NOW!" I heard Connor yell as he picked up his sword again, using the creatures distraction to his advantage. With one swoop, I saw as one of the bones from it's back, crashed to the ground. Howls of pain echoed through the halls again.

I stared at Connor as he aggressively swung his blade in every direction, while also dodging the monsters attacks. I haven't seen him fight like this in a while. Watching him like now, he almost seemed like a different person-

...wait...hold on…

How did…

How did Connor know that I lost my wand?

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. Sorry that I had to switch back to these two. I wish I could just focus on Ori, but Rona and Connor's side plot is too important to brush over. Next two chapters will be focusing solely on Ori, Mykale and Ember, so stay tuned...hopefully.**


	9. Rescue Mission (Part 1)

**Chapter 9: Rescue Mission (Part 1)**

* * *

It almost seemed like I was walking through mist. I couldn't tell if I was awake or not. Vague images kept popping up around me as I continued to walk. They would fade before I had the chance to make sense of what they were.

The air around me felt unfamiliar. The ground beneath my feet felt like a soft cloud. I was afraid that I would fall through, but my legs never shook. I kept walking...it seemed like something was pulling me along. I didn't get the chance to figure out who it was before a loud sound came roaring all around me. Shaking the entire world around me into darkness.

"DUDE, WAKE UP ALREADY!"

I threw my head up in shock. As soon as I opened my eyes, I had to squint them right away. The sun that peered through barred windows shone so bright. The first thing I saw was the figure of a woman. My vision was still blurry, so I couldn't make out who it was at first. The sun seemed to create somewhat of a glow around her.

"Ah...are...are you an Angel?"

I couldn't tell exactly, but I'm pretty sure I saw a scowl form on the ladies face.

"You know, I could put you right back to sleep if you want." The woman said as she raised a fist.

I felt a jolt of energy rush through my body. I threw my torso up off the ground, giving myself whiplash in the process. As my vision finally started to clear, I turned back to see a familiar face with a little added murderous intent to her eyes.

"Oh, Ember, it's you!" I stated in both an excited and terrified tone.

"It's about freakin time you got up. You've been out for almost a whole day." The black haired woman retorted.

"I was?...but, what happened!?...I don't…" I quickly grabbed my head after a sharp pain shot down through my spine. I suddenly remembered being smacked in the back of the head by something...or, I guess it was someone. I felt my skull, only to touch a large lump that had formed. I winced as soon as I made contact with it.

I shifted around on the floor, rustling, what felt like hay, under me. Thankfully I still had Ember's pants, that she let me wear, on me or else this would've been very uncomfortable. I glanced at my surroundings, noticing the light that I saw from before. The barred windows looked like that of a dungeons. The rest of the area just looked like a regular shed. A feeding trough for cattle, sat in the back, appearing to have not been used in a while. The entire space wasn't that big. You could probably fit a max of 5 cows in here, if even that.

"Who...those guys that attacked us, who were they?" I asked.

Ember appeared to hesitate a little, almost seeming to not want to answer the question. She fidgeted on her feet, trying to find a comfortable position to sit down on. I was sure that she had to be uncomfortable sitting on the hay with tights on. They even had rips on them that weren't there before.

"...Let's just say that...those guys are the reason I was out here to begin with." Ember said in a reclusive tone. She breathed heavy, leaning back while grabbing her cross legs to keep her from falling. "Well...not all these guys, just one of them to be specific."

My eyes fell flat. "What do you mean when you say 'Those guys', who are they?"

Before Ember could respond I heard the sound of footsteps outside. Both me and Ember noticed it. The footsteps quickly got louder and louder until they finally stopped right next to the wall of the building. A loud pounding sound soon followed after.

"Hey, is that dumb*** still alive in there?" The raspy voice of a man said.

I turned to look at the the woman with a nervous look, pointing at myself as If to say "does he mean me?". She shot me back a nod, before putting her pointer finger over her lips. I knew what that meant all too well. She then proceeded to gesture her hands down, for what I could only assume meant 'get down'.

"Hey, you hearin me b**ch?" The man yelled in an irritated tone. I watched as Ember picked herself off of the ground, before walking over to the spot where the man was at, on the other side of the wall.

"No, he's still out cold." The Bounty Hunter responded.

"Hm, you sure he's not dead?"

"I think I'd know if someone was dead or not. I mean, it's kinda my field of expertise."

"HA, expertise huh? Yet you still wound up here."

"I mean, it wasn't exactly a fair fight. I kinda got poison darted before anything happened."

"tsk, whatever you say. Just let dips**t in there know that the chief wants to talk to him after he gets his lazy a*s movin.

"Will do!" Ember finished with a flick of her wrist, as if to signify shooing the man away.

I listened as the man's footsteps got further and further. Ember layed her back against the wall, and slid down into a sitting position. I could hear her make a loud sigh, as she rubbed her face with her hands. I mustered myself up again to ask more questions.

"Ember...I'm guessing this has to do with your Bounty Hunter stuff. I'm sure you're trying to avoid getting me involved, which I appreciate, but I think It's safe to assume that I'm already involved and there's not getting out of it. So tell me...who are those people?" I said with the most serious tone I could muster up.

For a while, Ember seemed like she didn't hear what I said. Her eyes shifted around the ground, as If she was trying to find hidden markings in the dirt. She pulled a knife out of a sheath wrapped around her leg...ok, wait, they actually let her keep a weapon? The woman flipped the small blade around in the air, managing to catch it by the hilt perfectly, everytime.

"Sigh...I didn't want to tell you because I knew that once you knew everything you would stop at nothing to try and fight every single bandit at this camp. Which, in turn, would most likely get me killed in the process too." Ember said while continuing to twirl the miniature blade around in the air.

"You said that you were after one person in particular...this may be a shot in the dark, but I'm guessing the chief of this gang is the one you were after" I said. "Am I wrong?"

With a flick of her wrist, the Bounty Hunter threw the blade at the ground, sticking the blade into the wood floor. It made a surprisingly loud noise that seemed to echo. She placed her hands on her knees, and threw herself to her feet.

"Yup, you got it." Ember said as she began stretching out her limbs. "His names Koona. He's pretty well known in my line of work, but I wouldn't be surprised if you've never heard of him."

Koona...why do I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before. I rack my brain to try and pinpoint exactly where I heard it, but It seemed like I couldn't get a picture of it. I let the thought leave my mind and just assume it was a coincidence.

"You said that if I knew everything, I would stop at nothing to fight everyone here...so I'm guessing there's more to this?" I asked inquisitively

Once again, Ember appeared to not hear what I had said for a while and continued on with stretching her limbs. I starting tapping my finger on my knee impatiently.

"You see...Koona's what we call a Rogue Treasure Hunter. Anything that he

deems of being worth something, he will get it. Regardless of how many innocent people he has to slaughter. His obsession with wealth and power is what lead him to become what he is now...the leader of a gang of bloodthirsty bandits." Ember remarked.

I couldn't help but feel underwhelmed by that description. This Koona guy sounded like any other bandit leader to me. Maybe he's super strong or something. That's why he's so infamous. There's nothing special about him, but no one can beat him...something like that.

However that still didn't answer the question of why Ember thought I would want to fight everyone here If I knew the whole truth. I mean, I guess I kinda wanna find the guy that whacked me in the head. I wouldn't mind giving him a smack, but that's it.

I thought about how the woman had said that Koona lusted for riches. Anything he deemed worth something, he would get it. Did I have something worth value that he had? I mean, the only thing I lost were my pants...and my dignity, but that's besides the point. Was there anything else I had that I would care about?...

I flinched as a lightbulb went off in my head. I froze for a good 10 seconds. I could feel cold sweat begin to drip from my eyebrows. I threw myself up on my feet, and turned to look at Ember who had gotten up with me She stood in front of me, as if she was going to stop whatever I tried to do. I furrowed my brow.

"Ember...they have her, don't they...they have Orianna?" I asked, wary of letting the words out of my mouth.

The woman locked eyes with me, also furrowing her eyebrow. We both stood there for a while, unsure of which one of us should make the first move. I found it pretty impressive though, that even though we've only known each other for a little while, she was able to figure out the kind of person I was. She knew exactly how I'd react if I had found out sooner. I clenched my fist in irritation.

"If you know how I feel, then why are you standing in my way?" I asked in a discerning voice.

"Isn't it obvious? You have no idea what we're up against here...I do. If you run up to Koona, demanding for him to return your little robot friend, he will kill you without question after forcing you to watch as he tears her apart limb from limb." The Bounty Hunter lamented.

"THEN WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!? JUST WAIT TO BE KILLED HERE INSTEAD!?" I yelled, stomping my foot on the ground, causing dust to shake from the ceiling.

Look, I know how you feel, but waiting here until an opportunity arrives is our best bet. Besides…" Ember said, before almost cutting herself off. She seemed like she didn't want to say the rest. I gritted my teeth.

"Besides, what?" I asked.

"Sigh...I'm pretty sure your 'friend' will have already been sold off by now. Koona doesn't like to hold onto his merchandise for long. Even if she was still here, I'm positive she would be in pieces." The woman added.

I wanted to scream in aggravation, but I couldn't seem to be able to muster up the energy. I wanted to retort back, but what could I say? Maybe Ember was right...maybe it would be for the best to wait here for an opportunity. I let the tension drop in my body, before sinking down onto my feet. Why did I even care about this machine so much? It's like I have any reason to...right?

Suddenly, an image of a familiar girl popped up in my head. Her body laid dying in the grass. Her hand, outstretched to me, but I was useless to help. My lip quivered as that memory continued to plague my thoughts. However, as much as I hated it, I refused to let myself forget.

I thought back to waking up in Orianna's home. How she had bandaged up my wounds so meticulously. I held my chest, remembering how much it hurt. She could of just left me there to die...but she saved me. A so called 'emotionless-uncaring machine' saved my life out of her own free will. I pounded my fist into the ground, before shooting a furious look to the Bounty Hunter.

"You may not see her as someone worth caring about...but I do. You may only look at her as data and parts...but I see more." I said, as I got back up on my feet."You may only see her as someone worth disposing of to save your own life, BUT I NEVER WILL!"

Ember's expression seemed to change. I watched as she loosened up her fighting stance. Her eyes gave off a more curious expression now She folded her arms, before leaning back against the wall. She seemed to be pondering something, but I had no idea what to make of it. I started to feel a little awkward here now after having said all that...I was expecting more of a 'fight me' response.

I was really thrown off after I heard a chuckle come out of the woman's mouth That chuckle soon turned into full blown laughter. Alright, now she was just being rude...she could atleast pretend that what I said was cool.

"Hahaha, ohhh man, you really do have the hots for that robot, don't you?" Ember asked. I narrowed my eyes to her.

"You really need to drop that." I responded in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, cmon, lighten up. I'm just teasing you." Ember retorted.

"I KNOW YOU ARE, SO STOP IT!" I yelled back.

"Alright alright, I get it." The woman said earnestly. "So...let's hear the plan?"

"...uh..."

I felt a clot fill up in my throat. I didn't expect for her to switch gears so fast...wait, was this actually her intention all along? Was she planning to help save Orianna from the beginning?...dang, she's crafty.

"So...yeah, the plan…" I racked my brain a bit. I hadn't really given this much thought. "Well...uh...I guess, our first step should be to get out of here." I stated with as much positivity as I could muster up. Throwing my fist in the air triumphantly.

"Yeah, afraid that's not happening." Ember said, before raising her hand to the wall. She gave the thin metal a few taps. The sound seemed to amplify immensely, as the entire area echoed with the eerie sound of hollow metal being hit. The sound made my skin crawl.

"Afraid that this little storage area has been completely shrouded in magic. You attempt to punch or kick through this thing, it's gonna feel like getting your funny bone hit by a sledgehammer." The Bounty Hunter continued. My shoulders sunk in disbelief.

"You couldn't of told me this sooner?" I asked.

"I mean, I kinda thought it was obvious. We're a ways from the actual camp, I thought that much would be obvious from the lack of big burly men making a racket. It wouldn't be too smart of them to put us so far away in an unsturdy holding like this without a little extra insurance. Not to mention the fact that you were kinda talking loudly after I had convinced that guy from before that you were still unconscious. I think I would've been more than willing to shut you up if they were able to hear us."

"OK OK, I GET IT! I'm an idiot, you happy now?" I said in a defeated tone.

"Well, so long as you're aware that." Ember added with another big smirk.

I walked up to the wall myself, next to where Ember stood. I placed my hand on the metal. Instantly, I felt a tingling sensation run through my entire body. It was like a shock that just kept shocking me. It didn't really hurt, but it definitely felt weird. The metal itself didn't feel any different, but the sensation was like touching a frozen bolt of lightning. I saw Ember out of the corner of my eye, looking at me curiously. I think she expected me to pull my hand off right away.

"Hey...doesn't that hurt?" the woman asked inquisitively.

"Hm? No, not really. It just feels kinda weird. It's like I'm getting little bolts of energy that keep shooting throughout my entire body." I said, letting my hand graze along the metal surface.

"Uh...but you're full on touching the thing with your bare skin...your entire body should be throbbing in pain." The Bounty Hunter said in a confused tone.

"I mean, you're leaning on the thing. Don't you feel anything?" I asked.

"The sensation can only pass through skin. That, and my clothes are somewhat magic resistant." The woman said, before pushing herself off of the wall. She was looking from my hand, back to my face, trying to figure out if I was just faking it.

Before I could make sense of the situation, I suddenly remembered back when I had first met Rona...that moment when she encaged us in that magical barrier. I broke through it with such ease. Apparently that feat should've been nearly impossible according to the mage.

I looked back to my hand. A light blue aura had enveloped around my fingers. It was like the mist of dry ice. However, it didn't feel cold at all. Infact, it felt really warm. I furrowed my brow, and clenched my fist. I had no idea why I was able to do these things when it came to magic...but if I could do something, then I was going to try.

"Hey Ember, could you stand back for a second?" I asked.

The woman looked at me suspiciously. I'm guessing that she had sensed the same thing that I just did. Maybe she even had more of an answer for me about why. She folded her arms and started eyeing me up and down. She eventually responded back with a large sigh.

"Yep, there's definitely something weird about you. Whatever you have planned, just don't get yourself killed, okay?" Ember responded before stepping off to the side. I nodded back to her.

Alright, I had no idea what exactly to do here, so I just decided to wing it. I placed my other hand on the metal as well, instantly feeling the same sensation. In no time, the overall feeling changed. I could feel my body begin to heat up, but I wasn't burning. It was like I was being used as a connecter for the flow of magic...and as dumb as it sounded, this gave me an idea. I grit my teeth and planted my feet firmly on the ground.

"Alright, here goes nothing."

With a grunt, I yanked my hands off of the metal wall. As I thought, there was a lot of tension when I pulled. I'm pretty sure the magic flow literally used my body as a pathway. I watched as, what looked like magical saran wrap, begin to peel off of the wall. It feel the ground, disappearing before ever reaching it. An eerie screech echoed through the building again, just like before. It died as soon as it had come, and soon both me and Ember were left in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the wind and birds from outside.

I instinctively placed my hands on the metal again. This time, there was no sensation, no energy that pulsed through my body, it just felt like metal. I moved my hand to my chest. I don't know what to make of what just happened. I couldn't even begin to describe what it felt like to have magic flowing through me like that. My fingers were still tingling from it. I turned around to look at Ember who just stared at me with a shocked expression.

"Um...im guessing you're wondering what just happened, but I really don't myself, haha." I said, scratching the back of my head nervously.

Without a response to that, Ember walked right up to me, and grabbed my hands. Out of reflex, I took a small step back, almost tripping on my own feet. Ember began analyzing my hands so intently. She grazed her finger along the crevices on my palm. It made me shiver a bit.

"ALRIGHT, GETTIN KINDA UNCOMFORTABLE NOW" I yelled. Ember's eyes soon meet mine. I could tell that she was definitely curious, but also super suspicious at the same time.

"What...are you?" the woman asked.

Before I could respond, I could hear the sound of men shouting in the distance. It caused me to jump out of my skin a bit. It wasn't just a few men, it was several. I couldn't make out exactly what they were saying, but I could tell they weren't happy. I looked from where the sound was coming, back to Rona with a look that clearly said 'WHAT DO WE DO NOW!?"

"Well, this is great. As much as I'd love to knock you out again, I'm pretty sure the fact that the magic barrier's gone will make them more than a little suspicious." Ember said before reaching down and taking another knife out of her boots pocket. Seriously, why did they let her keep those?

She walked up to the metal wall, and in the blink of an eye, threw her leg up and smashed it through the metal with ease. I would of been more impressed if I didn't fear for my life with this woman. Sunlight shone through the hole brightly. I had to squint my eyes a little bit to see.

"Alright, Mr. Magic Breaker, you first." Ember said before grabbing my arm.

"Hey wait, what are yo-" I didn't have time to say anymore before the Bounty Hunter pulled me over to the hole, and threw me outside into the world like a rebellious teenager finally getting kicked out of his home. I started tumbling on the soft grass like a bowling ball. After I had finally stopped myself, I threw my body up off the ground, and tried standing right away, only to fall back down from the momentum.

"Ah, HELLO, I'm pretty sure I could of climbed through on my own, thank you very much." I said in a frustrated tone.

Once my vision had finally adjusted to the light a little, I was able to get a good look at the place we were in from the outside. It really was just a random shack in the middle of nowhere. All around me was a large patch of grass in the middle of a wall of trees.

I looked at the hole in the side of the building just as Ember had jumped out of it. That was when I noticed something moving from around the back of the storage area. At first it was the figure of 2 guys...then it was 5 guys...then It was 10 guys...then I decided to stop freakin counting them and get my butt movin.

I threw myself off the ground again, this time managing to stand up. Ember ran past me, grabbing onto my wrist as she went by. I'm surprised my arm wasn't pulled out of socket when my body got yanked into a full on sprint.

"HEY HEY HEY, HOLD ON! Where are we even doing?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.

"What, don't you want to save that Machine? If those guys catch us, then we're gonna die before we even get the chance." The Bounty Hunter responded.

"So what, you're just running away from them?"

"No, we need to get to Koona, but I'm quite certain those guys wouldn't give us the pleasure to make his acquaintance."

"So what, we're just gonna sneak up behind him, put a knife to his back, and make him give Ori back?" I asked very pessimistically.

"You know, for someone who spoke so high and mighty back there, you're sure whining alot now. If you have any better ideas, then feel free to enlighten me." Ember retorted.

As much as I wanted to enlighten her, there really were no other ideas that I could think of. I breathed a big sigh and accepted my defeat in this matter. I looked back, to see a group of about 50 men tailing not too far behind us. I could definitely tell they were bandits just from their outfits. They ran with swords and axes held high, yelling and screaming like monkeys.

"So, uh…*pant*...you know where this guy is, right?" I asked.

"Well...guess were going to find out." Ember answered.

I didn't really like the sound of that, but I guess I had no choice but to trust her. It's not like I had a solution to this situation that I was in. Although, I was still trying to figure out why Ember would help me in the first place. At first I thought she was still trying to finish her mission...but maybe she's just a good person at heart.

I put that thought to the back of my mind for later talks as Ember pulled me into the vast realm of Oak trees. My body instantly got covered in scratches as we pushed and broke through all of the branches in our way. The trees were so tightly packed together that it felt more like a maze than a forest.

I wanted to look back behind me again to see if we had covered anymore distance, but I'm quite sure a random branch in my way would of knocked me out if I did. I decided to just focus on what was ahead of me. I started to follow Ember's movements. She moved through the trees with such ease. It was like I was watching a Ninja at work.

Suddenly, right in front of my eyes, a long metal object came flying down through the air and in between me and Ember. I quickly let go of the woman's hand as to avoid getting her's or mine chopped off. The momentum caused me to crash into one of the trees in front of me, knocking me to the ground.

" **Heeeey, where do ya think you're goin?"** came a shrill and creepy man's voice.

Because of all the adrenaline flowing through my body, I was able to get back up from that fall really quick. I was soon met face to face with a gigantic man. He had the same outfit on as the other guys that were chasing us. His scars and scruffy beard sent shivers down my spine. I watched as the man yanked his sword out of the ground, pretty sure it was the one that almost chopped my hand off, and pointed it at me.

"Hey ugly, over here!" Ember yelled as she came barreling towards the man. He didn't have time to do much before the Bounty Hunter hurled a knife at him, piercing his hand that held the sword. The man screamed in pain, letting the blade clash to the ground. In a couple Ninja like moves, Ember drop kicked the man, sending his face crashing to the dirt.

"HOLY CRAP, THAT WAS AWESOME!" I said, being unable to contain my excitement.

"Keep moving, they're trying to flank us." Ember said earnestly before taking off in the same direction. I knew if I fell behind, I was a dead man, so I did my best to match her speed.

All around me, I could hear the leaves rustling, and the sound of men wailing. Once in awhile, one of the men would spot us, but Ember managed to take them out almost instantly. I'd try and describe exactly how she did it, but most of the time I had no idea what the heck was going on.

After what seemed like an eternity, a dim light shone at the end of the trees. It got brighter and brighter as I got closer to it.

"Hey, is that the end?" I asked.

"Yup, and it's also where we make our break." Ember responded.

After hearing that, I picked up the pace. I was more than ready to get out of this maze. I let a smile color my face as the vision of a grassy field finally caught my view. I had to admit, that everything that had happened so far was pretty exciting...way more fun than anything that happened in my town.

I got up right beside Ember, looking to her as we neared the exit. I nodded to her in a 'let's do this' kinda way, to which she responded with...at first, a look of shock that I was actually neck and neck with her...but she eventually nodded bad. With a heavy push, I broke through the branches that blocked my way, and finally stepped foot on grass again.

I wanted to celebrate before...something happened again…In the sunlight, I saw the large figure of a man. Everything happened so fast that I wasn't able to get a good look at him before I was knocked to the side by incredible strength. I tumbled through the grass, just like last time, but this time it hurt alot more.

I heard Ember scream, causing me to push myself off the ground, despite the fact that I was pretty sure I had a lot of broken bones from that. I turned to see the man, holding Ember in the air by her neck. The woman squirmed and rythed, but it was like a kitten trying to escape the mouth of a lion.

"My my, such a feisty little creature, aren't you." The man said condescendingly.

"HEY, LET HER GO!" I yelled.

The man turned to me with a surprised look in his face. That's when I was able to get a good look at him. He had a pointed beard that reached all the way to his torso. His dark hair was tied back like that of a samurai. Across his entire face he had one large scar, going through his right eye that I'm pretty sure he was blind in. His clothes looked like a Yukata. The sash that was tied around his waist appeared to be the pelt of some wild animal.

"Oh, you're already back up? Well, aren't you a tough little critter." The man said in that condescending voice again.

Without thinking, I picked up the nearest rock that I could see and tossed it at the man. I watched as the stone was instantly deflected...even though it didn't look like the guy moved his hand at all. I gritted my teeth before charging full speed at him.

"I SAID LET, HER, GOOO!" I screamed.

Before I had even gotten close to the man, I was suddenly flipped upside down onto my back. I gasped as all the air in my body had been pushed out. I layed there for a good while. I wanted to get back up, but my body seemed to not want to respond to me this time. It wasn't until I heard the voice of the person that threw me...when I moved.

"pLeASe...StAY doWn." Came a very familiar robotic voice.

I slowly rolled over onto my gut, and pushed myself off the ground. With slight hesitation, I looked up to see a face I recognized. Her glowing blue eyes pierced through me like they always do.

"O-...Orianna?...is that...you? I asked, almost unable to get the words out.

The mechanical girl just stared at me blankly like she always did. She eventually bowed to me in an apologetic notion.

"pLeASe, I BeG yoU...dO NoT aTTemPt tO hArM MAsTer kOoNa." Orianna added.

My eyes grew wide as I turned to the man. With a smirk, he tossed Ember to the side, slamming her against a tree. I heard her make a sound like all the life in her had been puffed up. Emotions swirled around in my head, and I wasn't able to make sense out of any of them.

"You're...Koona?..." I asked, before turning to the mechanical girl. "But you...why are you here...with him?...why did you call him...master?" I asked, unsure of what to even say at this point.

The man started laughing as he walked over to me. I watched as he placed his hand on Ori's head and began to rub her metallic hair. The fact the she let him do that so casually seemed to piss me off somehow.

"Ah, do you know this boy my darling?" The man asked. I couldn't help but shiver at the way he said that.

Orianna finally moved her eyes to look at mine. It was like she was scanning me...like she was trying to remember who I was. After a while she turned her eyes back to the ground.

"yEs...I kNow ThiS BoY.

 **So per usual, I gotta thank you guys for reading this chapter! Whether or not you're a new reader to this story, or a previous one, I'm still so glad you stuck with me for this long! Also, I do gotta say that I hate where I had to end this chapter...it's not enthralling enough. However the part that I wanted to end it at would of taken another 1k words. That would of made it way too long...so I had to go with ending it here. It's sucks, yeah, I know.**

 **Secondly, as some news for this story, I'm trying to hire my sister to rewrite it. My sis is an English major, and MUCH better at writing than I am. If I did end up doing that, I'd upload all the re-written chapters as a seperate story (Aside from probably the 1st chapter). Don't worry though, I wouldn't stop writing it myself. I would just like to get someone's who's better than me at this stuff to put their spin on it :)**


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